Losing Everything?
by GSR4ever87
Summary: One moment can still change everything, and the group is once again reminded of that fact. Find out what happened, and will happen next in their lives. Will they only become stronger by the end? Sequel to One moment changed everything
1. 5 Months later

Disclaimer: I don't own the main characters

Summary: One moment can still change everything, and the group is once again reminded of that fact. Find out what happened, and will happen next in their lives. Will they only become stronger by the end? Sequel to One moment changed everything

AN: Hope you are all looking for this next installment to the series. I also want to inform you all that if you are into my GSR stories, the next set of stories that I'll be posting about them will be in this universe.

Title: Losing Everything?  
Genre: Romance, Hurt/comfort, Drama, Family  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: None  
Time-line: 5 months after last one ended  
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior, questionable language  
Main Parings: Ducaine, Kyle/Lindsey  
Minor Parings: Nicole/Bryan, YoBling (Cath/Warrick)  
Other Characters: Natalia, and Eric, Ryan and Alexx (Mentioned), Nick, Ducaine younger kid(s)

* * *

Chapter 1: 5 Months later

Christmas Eve, 2009

Calleigh opened her eyes to the feel of her husband's hand on her now 7 month pregnant stomach, then she turned her head to look over her shoulder to see his head on the palm of his other hand with a bright smile on his face with his eyes gleaming, making her smile bigger as she asked. "What are you so happy about this morning, handsome?"

"Can't it be just waking up next to you every morning."

She shyly smiled as she looked down at his hand that was still on her stomach before slipping her fingers through his, she didn't care how long she's been with this wonderful man, he still has a way of making her feel like she was going through her first crush.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek before laying down, even slipping his other arm under her head so he could hold her, well the best he could considering her current condition, and she sighed in content before whispering. "Sometimes I wish we could just stay here, like this."

He squeezed her clasped hands as he whispered. "Me too, sweetheart." He then kissed her shoulder and continued. "But considering we are going to have a full house tonight, it wouldn't be feasible today."

Since they've been married they like to try to have a Christmas Eve party with their friends/co-workers, it didn't always happen, but this year it was.

As Calleigh started to nod, there was a knock on the bedroom door, making her speak with a smile. "I guess back to the real world."

He smiled in return. "I'm afraid so."

They begin to sit up so their backs would be against the headboard while Calleigh said. "Yeah, come in."

When the door opened, their eyes lit up when they saw their youngest son walking in the room carrying two sippy cups of milk with a smile on his face. "Me milk!"

The parents chuckled as Horatio spoke. "Good job, buddy."

Nick, who was carrying a tray with two plates of breakfast on it, spoke with a smile. "He wanted to carry the milk, but I knew there was only one way that would happen." They nodded in understanding before he continued. "I could go get real glas..."

Calleigh cuts him of while shaking her head. "It's ok, sweetie." She took the sippy cups from Anthony before asking. "Kiss?"

His blue eyes sparkled with a nod as he got on the bed with his mother's help, and after a kiss from her, he crawled over to his father and he got a kiss from him while Nick had placed the tray over his mother's lap, then he looked over at his father and asked. "You want me to get the other tray?"

Horatio waved it off with a smile. "I'm fine."

Nick nodded while Anthony asked with hopeful eyes. "Presents?"

They chuckled before Calleigh spoke while shaking her head. "I'm sorry sweetie, but not know." Before he started to pout, Calleigh continued. "But maybe later tonight you can open two, if you are a very good boy."

He nodded with a smile. "Me will."

They all smiled, and after one more kiss from his parents, he wanted off the bed, and once he was, he ran out of the bedroom, but had to stop at the top of the stairs since the baby gate was locked, and he pouted at his brother. "Down?"

Nick looked out towards the hall and shouted. "Just a minute little man." Then he looked at his parents and asked. "If you guys need anything, just let me know."

The parents looked at him with nothing but love and appreciation before Calleigh spoke. "You didn't have to do this."

He waved it off with a smile. "It's ok, you do enough for us, so we just wanted to do something for you guys."

They smiled in return while he turned to walk out of the room, but before he did, Calleigh asked. "Speaking of 'us', how is Nicole doing this morning?"

When Nick turned to look at them again, the smile was now off his face as he shook his head sadly. "Barely even a smile."

A week after Kyle left, everybody was shocked when Nicole told them that she and Bryan had broken up, and as much as they tried, they could never get the reason, or who had broken it off, and her sadness has only gotten worse as the months went by.

They sighed and nodded, and Nick nodded in return before finally turning and walking out of the room.

Once he was gone, Calleigh looked at her husband sadly. "I wish there is something I can do for her."

"I know sweetheart, I want the same thing, but I think we both know how hard first heartbreaks are and they take time to heal. We'll just keep letting her know we are here for her."

Calleigh nodded in understanding and agreement while she handed one of the sippy cups to him, and after taking it and taking the lid off, they both knocked them together and said cheers before they started eating while thinking how wonderful the family they had, while still feeling a little concerned for their daughter.

* * *

Once Lindsey had woken up and gotten out of bed, she grabbed a change of clothes before heading towards the bathroom so she could take a shower and get ready to start her day, which consisted of going to the Caine residence so she could help Nick and Nicole prepare for tonight since they all agreed that with Calleigh's current condition she could use the help.

When she returned to her bedroom, she walked right to her dresser, picked up the chain that had Kyle's senior ring through it and clipped it around her neck before getting her socks and shoes on, then after grabbing her backpack, since she was also spending the night with them, she walked out of the room to head towards the kitchen that was downstairs.

(A few minutes earlier)

While Cassandra, who was darker skinned like her father, was sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast, her mother was at the stove cooking the rest of the family breakfast, when her husband of almost two years walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Morning, babe."

Catherine smiled, feeling that all to familiar tingling sensation she got when he was near. "Hi, someone woke up on the right side of the bed."

He kissed her neck again and whispered against her skin. "That's because I was waking up next to you."

She rolled her eyes, but secretly loved it, then she stopped what she was doing and turned around so she could give her husband a proper kiss, and after they pulled back, she looked into his eyes and saw that certain look, and she shook her head with a chuckle. "Oh no, don't start looking at me like that."

Innocently, he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Like what?"

"You know what, the last time you gave me that look you asked if we could try for a baby."

Even though when he did that, they weren't 100% sure it would happen, so that's why their daughter was a surprise, a miracle really, and one they were truly grateful for.

He lost his smile a little as he asked. "You don't want another one?"

Feeling a little bad for breaking his spirit, she cupped his cheek and replied softly. "Babe, I would love to have more with you, but unfortunately time is against us, yes we got lucky the first time. But I don't know if it's on our side this time, and I don't want you to have so much hope just to be let down every time the test reads negative."

He nodded in understanding before asking in a hopeful tone. "If it doesn't happen the usual way, there are other ways to have kids."

She then asked a little surprised. "And adopting would be ok with you?"

He ran his hand up and down her sides as he replied with nothing but love in his eyes. "As long as I can call you the mother of my children, I don't care how we get them."

Seeing that another child is what he really wanted, she nodded with a smile. "I'll tell you what, we can try again, and if it doesn't happen within a few months, we'll look into those other options."

His green eyes got bright as he asked. "Really?"

"Really."

He chuckled as he cupped her cheeks before he whispered. "You are the best, I love you so much."

Before she could respond, his lips were on hers again, not that she was complaining though, but before they could deepen it, they hear Lindsey's voice, which was in a teasing tone. "Well, I thought I had an appetite, but it looks like that went down the drain in a hurry."

The happy couple broke apart and they looked at Lindsey before her mother shook her head with a smile. "Ha, ha, very funny." The couple did a sweet peck before she went back to cooking breakfast, thankful it didn't burn, while Warrick walked up to his stepdaughter with a smile. "Good Morning, Linds."

Stepdaughter and Stepfather share a hug while she spoke. "Good Morning, Warrick."

After they pulled back, Lindsey walked to her sister, who was holding out some soggy cereal for her, making Lindsey chuckle and shake her head. "It's ok sissy, you eat it."

Cassandra just giggled before sticking her cereal in her mouth, then as Lindsey walked to the fridge to get some milk, Catherine spoke again. "Oh before I forget, your Uncle Gil called to wish you a Merry Christmas."

Lindsey nodded with a smile. "That's cool, I'll make sure to call him back."

Catherine smiled with a nod, and after putting the jug back in, Lindsey walked to the table to sit down so she could have breakfast with her family.

* * *

Once breakfast was done and Horatio was ready for work, him and Calleigh headed downstairs, and after dealing with their dishes, they walked back into the living room so he could say goodbye, which he did with the boys first before turning his attention to his daughter, which broke his heart to see her with so much sadness in her eyes when she wasn't trying very hard to hide it, and when she noticed he was looking at her, she faked a smile as she stood up. "Dad I'll be ok, this is just part of growing up, right?"

He took a breath and cupped her cheek before replying softy. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck."

Even her chuckle wasn't like it use to be as she shook her head before replying. "And you're absolutely right." Then she cleared her throat and finished. "Love you, dad."

He brings her in his arms for a hug and whispers. "I love you too."

After they pulled back, she took a breath before announcing she was going upstairs so she could change for the day, and once she left the room, he said one more goodbye to the boys before him and Calleigh headed for the front door and stepped outside.

He cupped his wife's cheek as she spoke. "Be safe out there."

He smiled with love in his eyes. "Always." Then he placed his hand on her stomach. "And you take it easy, let the kids help with the preparation for tonight like they promised they would."

A few months ago there was a scare that she could of lost the baby, so to lower the chances of that happening, Calleigh hadn't worked in the lab since, even though she knew she wouldn't be out in the field and would miss working, but the health of this baby and her family meant more, so she was more than willing to sacrifice that for them, no questions asked or second thoughts.

She placed her hand on top of his with a nod and smile. "I will, I promise."

His blue eyes lit up as he brought her closer to him. "That's my girl, I love you."

They share a sweet kiss before she replied after they finally pulled back. "And I love you, I'll see you later."

After one more nod, they share one more kiss, then he turned and stared walking towards his vehicle, saying a passing bye towards Lindsey and Cassandra, who had just arrived at the house and was walking on the walkway.

Lindsey smiled at Calleigh. "I hope bringing Cassandra was ok? Her daycare wasn't open today, and mom and Warrick had some last minute shopping to do before they head into work later."

Out of the group, Catherine and Warrick were the only ones who wouldn't have been able to make the party, but they understood.

Calleigh waved off Lindsey's concern with a smile. "Of course it's ok, it will definitely make Anthony happy."

Hearing Anthony's name, Cassandra looked around with excitement. "Where is he?"

Just like the siblings before her, Cassandra and Anthony had a very nice bond.

The women chuckled before Lindsey spoke softly to her younger sister. "He's inside, you want to go see him?"

She nodded with her green eyes sparkling, another trait she got from her father. "Yes, please."

Calleigh then replied as she moved to the side to let them in. "Then by all means, come in."

Cassandra cheered as Lindsey gave the older woman a nod and walked into the house, speaking since the boys had their backs toward them. "Anthony, look who is here to see you."

Her voice caught both Nick's and Anthony's attention, so they turned to look in her direction, and Anthony smiled as he saw Cassandra. "'andra!"

Cassandra giggled and started to squirm because she wanted down, and after she was, she ran over to her friend, where they hugged before they went right to playing with his toys, making them all smile warmly, then Calleigh looked at Lindsey, and Nick, who was now standing near them. "Keep an eye on them, please."

After the teenagers nodded, Calleigh headed for the kitchen, leaving them alone, or as alone as they could be with the younger kids around.

They watched them for a few seconds before Lindsey spoke, now worried about her friend. "How is she today?"

Nick took a breath before shaking his head sadly. "I'm afraid not much better. Christmas use to be her favorite holiday, but now it's like the joy just left her."

As she was placing her purse and Cassandra's day-bag down next to the stairs, Lindsey replied to that. "And we both know the main reason why it was her favorite holiday."

With Nicole and Bryan starting their relations during the Christmas holiday, they could see why it was one of the best days of her life.

Nick nodded, then he started to get upset. "I still want to hurt Bryan for what..."

Being the voice of reason, Lindsey placed her hand on his shoulder and replied softly. "Easy there, we don't know that he actually did anything, she could have just broken up with him."

"Do you really think it was just an out of the blue moment she wanted to break up with him? You know how much she loved him, so if he didn't hurt her, then what other possible explanation is there?"

Even though Nicole has told them repeatedly that Bryan didn't do anything and that they shouldn't blame him, Nick wasn't convinced, still wasn't.

Lindsey took a breath as she removed her hand from his shoulder, and after checking over at the younger kids, she shook her head. "I don't know, but it's not fair to put blame on someone when we don't know the facts."

He nodded with a sigh as he started to walk to the stairs and sat down before looking up at her with a helpless look. "I know you're right, but she's my sister, and as her brother, I want to protect her. But, unfortunately I don't know how to protect her this time."

She looked at him with admiration as she replied. "Which wanting to protect her makes you an amazing brother." He smiled shyly, and as he looked down, she walked over towards him and sat down next to him before continuing after a sigh. "And you know I want to protect her too, but outside of being there for her and letting her know she isn't alone, I don't think there is much we can do."

He moved his shoulder so it would bump into hers, then they looked at each other and he gave her a smile. "And that's what makes you an amazing best friend."

She smiled in return. "Well, I try to be."

"You been doing an amazing job." Then his voice got a little sadder. "Even though you are dealing with..."

He trials off before she finished with a raised eyebrow. "My own sadness of Kyle not being here?" He just nodded and she finished with a sigh. "I'm just trying to take it one day at a time. Besides, my friend needs me, and that's what is important right now."

He gave her another smile as he commented. "You know I think you're the glue that holds this group together."

She chuckled and shook her head. "If that's the case then I must not being doing a very good job, do you see the state our group is in right now?" Then she smirked. "So, maybe it's time to trade me in for some new glue."

He shook his head before placing his hand on top of her arm and replied softly. "Nah, we would be lost without you."

In that moment something shifted slightly and they were suddenly very aware that they were looking into each other's eyes and that his hand was still on her arm.

A second later he removed his hand like it was burned, and she cleared her throat and looked over at the younger kids before replying. "I'm going to go check on Nicole, watch the kids?"

He waved it off with a smile as his eyes turned to the kids too. "Yeah, of course."

She nodded before standing up and walking upstairs while he sat there wondering what the heck just happened there, but before he could analyze it, he was thankful for Anthony's voice. "Play, brofer?"

Nick smiled as he stood up from the stairs. "Sure little man, I can play for a little bit before helping mom."

They cheered as Nick got closer to them, while still in the back of his mind wondering if that moment was a passing, nothing but a friend one or could it have been something more.

* * *

AN: Hope it was ok. Thanks for reading and please review, more to come.


	2. Still love him?

AN: Warning: Language, but one word, and implied/suggestive adult Behavior. Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2: Still love him?

After shift

When Horatio made it back to his office from being in the break room after dismissing his team for the day, he sighed as he sat down, then after grabbing his phone, he hit speed dial number one before placing it to his ear.

Her voice was heard a few seconds later. "Hi, handsome."

He smiled at hearing her voice before replying. "Hi, sweetheart."

"You ok?"

"I am now."

There wasn't even a pause after he said that. "A bad case?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Can I just hear your voice for a bit?"

She smiled on her end of the phone. "Of course, you want me to talk about anything specific?"

"Not really."

"Ok, I'll just start with I love you."

He smiled as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "That's a very good start, and I love you too, Cal."

There was a slight pause before she started to speak, nothing specific like they agreed, but he soaked up the sound of her voice just the same as the case vanished from his mind, once again thankful he has this amazing woman in his life, especially when moments like this come up.

* * *

Hours later

By the time for the party to start, the food was cooked, and other snacks/drinks were in the dinning room waiting to be eaten, and after the time was a little past the top of the hour, the first guests started to arrive, which was Eric and his date, then came Alexx, her husband and their 13 year old daughter, and not long after that, Alexx's son Bryan showed up with his new friend/roommate, Derrick, an athletic, African-American who stood at 6'1 with brown hair and hazel eyes, Derrick's girlfriend, Ellie, who was African-American, 5'6, had a slim build with long black hair and green eyes, and Ellie's best friend, Ashley, who was also African-American, 5'7, also had a slim build with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, which after he showed up, things started out awkward between him, Lindsey and Nick for a few minutes before they shook it off, vowing to make the best of this time and not cause a scene.

Not long after Bryan and his friends had showed up, Nicole walked out of the kitchen carrying another snack tray, this one of the veggie variety when she saw Bryan and his new friends, and seeing him laugh at something one of the new girls were saying, sent a pang in her heart, so she turned and immediately walked back into the kitchen, and Bryan, who just got a glimpse of her before she was in the kitchen, excused himself from the group before heading towards the other room.

When he walked in the kitchen they were the only two in there, which was also the first time they've been in the same room alone since their break-up four months ago, and to say it was filled with a lot of different emotions, was an understatement.

They looked into each other's eyes, both trying to read one another, then she broke the ice while looking down at the floor. "She's beautiful."

"We are just friends, Nicole."

She chuckled humorlessly as she looked into his eyes again. "Isn't that how it always starts?"

He shook his head and turned around to leave the room, but stopped before he did and turned back around to look at her and say in a somewhat hard tone. "You know what, even if that was the case and I was dating her, you have no right to make me feel guilty about it, especially when you're the one that broke up with me."

A sharper pang went to her heart, not by his words but what she did to get them in this situation, so she nodded as she looked down again, willing herself not to cry in front of him. "You're right, I'm sorry, you have every right to date whoever you want without you feeling like it's a crime."

When he spoke in a soft voice this time, he was standing right in front of her. "And you know there is only one woman I want to be with, still want to be with."

She tried everything she could, but when she looked up at him, tears did appear in her eyes as she whispered. "Bryan I..."

He cuts her off while going with temptation and cupping her cheek, almost making her want to close her eyes at his touch, a touch she's missed the last four months. "What is it? What did I do? Did I somehow made you feel pressured into..."

This time she cuts him off. "No, you did nothing wrong, you know our first night was the best night of my life, and if you remember, I'm the one that called you, I'm the one that convinced you everything would be ok."

 _Flashback_

 _Late June, 2009_

 _(Two weeks before Kyle Left)_

 _Nicole, who was wearing a red nighty, was sitting at the end of the hotel bed, which was the same room they had been in on his prom night last month, looking around the candle-lit room to see if everything was perfect when she heard the door opening as Bryan was speaking. "Hey Nicole, why did you want to..." He trailed off when he saw the room, then his eyes got wide and his heart raced as he saw her stand up from the bed and turn to him, making him answer his own question while the door closed behind him. "I guess I know why."_

 _There was a long pause before she gave him a shy smile. "Hi."_

 _He started to walk up to her with a smile on his face. "Hi, you look uhm...You look uhm..."_

 _She chuckled as he took her hand. "Speechless?"_

 _He chuckled with a nod, his eyes sparkling as he cupped her cheek with his other hand. "Very much so, but that babe, is nothing new. I've found myself speechless multiple times through the years just looking at you."_

 _She shyly looked down this time with her heart racing, and he lifted her chin up so he could give her a kiss, and while it was meant to be a short one, he just couldn't pull away when she deepened it, making it one of the most passionate kisses they have ever experienced as they were walking towards the bed, and only stopping their feet when the back of her legs hit the side of it._

 _He went along with helping her take off his jacket, but when he felt her hands on the hem of his shirt, he slowed their kissing down and placed his hands on top of hers, finally speaking once he placed his forehead to hers while trying to catch his breath. "Whoa, wait a minute."_

 _Curious and a little confused, she asked. "What's wrong? I thought you would want this." Then she got a little sadder as she pulled from his forehead. "Want me? am I doing..."_

 _He cuts her off tenderly as he cupped her cheek again. "Of course I want this, I want to be with you more than you can possibly know. I just need to know why now, when just last month we both agreed we would wait."_

 _"Isn't just wanting to be with you and tired of waiting good enough for you?"_

 _"Yes, but I can't help but think that there is another reason for this now."_

 _Again, looking at him a curiously, she asked. "What do you mean?" Then after a pause, and while looking into his eyes, she whispered softly, like she had been betrayed. "Wait a minute, did Lindsey tell you something?"_

 _No point in lying, he nodded. "Yes."_

 _Nicole made a disapproving noise as she said. "I'm going to kill her."_

 _She started to walk past him, but he took her hand and turned them around before she could get far and he continued. "She didn't come out and tell me, but I saw it in her eyes when she looked at me, and I'm quoting her word for word here, 'That if you ever give into temptation and cheat on Nicole, I will come and kick your ass.'" Nicole couldn't help but chuckle as he finished while shaking his head with a smile. "And believe me I know for a fact she wouldn't be alone."_

 _Nicole shook her head with a small smile. "You're right, she wouldn't be."_

 _"Which they and you have nothing to worry about, I hope you really know that, and that we don't have to do this now if you feel you have to keep me." He brings her closer to him so he could wrap his arms around her waist. "Because as far as I'm concerned, you're going to be my first and last." Then couldn't help but smirk the last thing he said, but was completely serious. "And if I play my cards right, all the in-betweens."_

 _She chuckled for a second for the last thing he said, then replied with an emotional tone while nodding her head. "I know that, I really do."_

 _His eyes lit up with a smile. "Ok, I'm glad to hear that." They kissed softly on the lips before they place their foreheads together and closed their eyes, then after a moment or two, he took a deep breath and continued. "Then why don't we get out of here and have a pizza."_

 _Despite how freely the words came out of his mouth, it was actually hard, because don't get him wrong, he was tempted, very tempted, but he'll wait for how ever long he had to for her. She meant the world to him, and he wasn't going to do anything that will destroy what they have, or what they were building._

 _He pulled back and took the few steps from her so he could bend down and pick up his jacket, which he did, but before he could turn around and speak again, she took his hand and replied with a smile. "How about after?"_

 _His eyes got wide again as he spoke softly. "Nicole..."_

 _But she places her finger to his lips and spoke. "Can you just listen for a second?" While Bryan just nodded, she walked them towards the bed, turned and placed her hands on his shoulders and guided him to sit down before she took his hand again while continuing. "After I told Lindsey my fear, I really thought about what she said after, and she was absolutely right. If I actually thought sleeping with you to keep you was the right move, then I honestly can say for a fact that we wouldn't have lasted." He gets a concerned look on his face as he held her hand tighter, afraid that if he let go, he would lose her, as she continued. "And it also got me thinking that if I really thought that, then it would ultimately mean I didn't trust you enough, or believe in us, believe that we can be the small percentage of teenage romances that actually lasted beyond high-school." She then finished as she got on his lap, facing him with a smile as she cupped his cheek while his arms went around her. "I do trust you 100%, no doubt about it, and I firmly believe we'll make it through this next step of our lives. Oh, I know it won't be a piece of cake, but I'm willing to try my best."_

 _He smiled in return. "And you already know my answer to that." Her eyes lit up and they share a few kisses, and as she was going for his neck, he closed his eyes and whispered. "Ok, so if it's really not about that, what's tonight about?"_

 _She gave him a couple more kisses to his neck before pulling back, then after looking into his beautiful brown eyes, she answered him. "In a relationship you want to make sure it grows, right?" After he nodded, she finished as she cupped his cheek. "Then that's what tonight is, I'm just simply ready to let us grow."_

 _She leaned toward him and they shared a few more kisses while her hands went to the hem of his shirt again, but before she even got it halfway, he pulled back and asked. "And you're sure?"_

 _Now starting to feel a little frustrated, she replied after a deep sigh. "Of course, didn't you just..."_

 _He cuts her off softly with all the love in his eyes, and a little worry. "And in order for it grow properly without damaging it, it needs to be nurtured and cared for."_

 _Her frustration died down, really hearing his words and meaning, and she gave him a loving smile as she cupped his cheek. "I get it, and yes I'm 100% sure."_

 _When he saw no doubt in her eyes, they go back to kissing, slowly at first before it started to get passionate, and when her hands got to the hem of his shirt again, this time he allowed her to take it off, then after a pause as she admired the man she loved while as she ran a hand up his athletic chest, touching his shoulder and cupping his cheek before they go back to kissing._

 _Eventually he picked her up, making her gasp a little, so he could turn them around and lay her down on the bed, and after several more minutes, but before anything else was taken off, he pulled, both trying to catch their breaths, he looked down at her. "At any time you want to stop, tell me, no questions asked, you got it?"_

 _She nodded as she cupped his cheek with a smile. "Yeah, I promise. I love you Bryan Woods."_

 _He smiled in return. "I love you too, Nicole Owings-Caine, so much. I just want to tonight to be perfect for you."_

 _"It already is, I'm with you, and I know I'll be ok."_

 _He turned his head and kissed her palm before leaning down to kiss her lips, softly at first before it grew to passionate proportions, letting their deep feelings for one another guide them through one of the most important moments of their lives._

 _End of Flashback_

"If that is the case, and it wasn't me, then what happened? And don't tell me you stopped loving me that quickly, I know it isn't that."

She couldn't help but smirk at that. "You're a little full of yourself, aren't you?"

He shook his head and continued with a serious tone. "No, I just I see it in your eyes, Nicole, you still love me, but you're pushing me away for some reason, and I want to know why. What got you so scared between our first night together to three weeks later that made you want to turn your back on me, on us?"

The answers Bryan was seeking, has been seeking for four months was on the tip of Nicole's tongue, and she was going to open her mouth and speak, but their moment was interrupted when they heard new guests being greeted into the house, so she cleared her throat and stepped back, his hand falling from her face. "I better get out there, have a good time at the party."

She started to walk towards the door when Bryan spoke again. "Nicole..."

But she cuts him off. "Just move on Bryan, it's for the best."

She continued to walk out of the room without another word, leaving Bryan more confused and hurt than he had been when she suddenly broke up with him.

Deep down he knew it was something serious, and he wanted to help with whatever it was, but unless she lets him in, there was nothing he could do.

He took a deep breath before walking back into the main room, wishing they could be celebrating their 5th year of dating instead of counting another day they've been broken up.

* * *

Later that Night

Once the party was done, the guests left the house, except for Lindsey and Cassandra since they were spending the night, and after everybody got to open a present, they watched a few family themed movies before putting the younger kids to sleep and started getting ready to go to sleep themselves, but before they could call it a night, there was an important video chat coming at midnight.

Lindsey opened the bathroom door and started to walk out before stopping suddenly so she didn't run into Nick, who had just stopped in front of the door.

They smiled shyly at one another as he moved to the side so she could walk out in the hall, then as she started walking down the hall, he started to walk in the bathroom but was stopped when Lindsey said his name. "Nick?" He stepped back and looked over at her before she asked after clearing her throat. "About earlier, I..."

He waved it off with a smile. "Forget about it, it was just two friends having a nice moment."

She smiled in return as she nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought too."

He laughed with a nod. "Of course, what else could it have been, you're in love with Kyle, my brother."

She nodded and took a breath before looking him in the eyes, speaking in a very serious tone. "I am, very much." He nodded again before she spoke again with a smile. "Then we are ok?"

No hesitation when he answered back. "Always."

"Good, because I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"And that will never happen."

After one more nod, she said she'll see him downstairs before she finally turned to walk, eventually going downstairs as he watched her until she was out of sight before walking into the bathroom with a sigh, hoping with all of his might that what he told her about their moment being just a friendly one was just that, because there is no way he could be falling for Lindsey, who not only is one of his best friends, but his brother's girlfriend, is there? He mentally shook his head before closing the door behind him.

About 10 minutes later, while Nick, Calleigh and Horatio were sitting on the coach and the girls were sitting in front of them on the floor, a live video feed came on their TV from the computer and the beautiful face of Kyle came in view.

They all smiled at one another, and as Kyle looked at his amazing family, he sighed in content before saying. "Happy Holidays everybody, love and miss you all."

* * *

AN: A little time jump next. Thanks for reading and Please review, more Ducaine to come soon. :)


	3. Graduation Day & Surprise Visitor

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3: Graduation Day & Surprise Visitor

Five months later

Nick smiled in the mirror as he was straightening his tie, then after grabbing his graduation gown, he started to put it on when there was a clearing of the throat in the doorway of his room, so he turns around and sees his twin sister standing there in her graduation gown, they smiled at one another before he asked. "Hey, what's up?"

She walked in his room as she replied. "Just wanted to have a little moment with my bro, if that's ok with you."

He nodded as he zipped up his gown. "Sure, anything specific you want to talk about?"

"Yeah, I can't stop thinking about it, or else I wouldn't bring it up."

He raised an eyebrow as he asked. "About what?"

There was a pause before she looked into her brother's eyes. "Why you and dad seemed awfully quiet last night during dinner."

The family decided to have take out last night, so Horatio and Nick went to a Chinese restaurant and got it, and when they came home and sat down to eat, Nicole couldn't help but feel something happened while they were out.

Nick shook his head with a sigh. "It was nothing. Besides, of all days, it shouldn't be brought up now."

"Which means it really is something, and you know I won't stop asking until you tell me, so what happened? I can take it."

She had been doing so well these last few months that he was afraid if he told what he knew that she might go back to the way she was before, and he couldn't stand to see her like that again. But then again she was right, she wouldn't stop asking until she knew. Plus, he didn't want her to find out any other way, so he nodded with a sigh before telling her. "We saw him last night with a girl, and it looked like it was a date."

Immediately she knew who he was talking about and for a second it felt like the wind was knocked out of her, but she shook it off a second later, knowing she was the one that caused this situation, and nodded her head as she walked to the end of her brother's bed. "Was it Ashley?" After he turned to look at her, he nodded his head, making her take a breath as she sat down before speaking. "I guess that's that, then, huh?"

As he walked over towards her, he asked. "You ok?"

She gave him a little smile at his concerned look. "Yes, you don't have to look at me like I'm about to unravel. Yes hearing what I just heard wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but he's only doing something I knew he would eventually do, what comes natural."

He sits down next to her and sighed. "I just don't understand why it had to happen in the first place." He looked at his sister now and started to ask. "Nicole..."

But she cuts him while shaking her head. "Please, not today."

He sighed with another nod. "Ok, I'll drop it, but please just tell me one more time that he didn't force you into anything or hit your or anything like that."

She gave him a smile as she took his hand. "Nick we've known him since we were five years old, have you ever seen him lose his temper or become aggressive in anyway?"

His response was immediate. "No, especially when he was near you."

"There you go. Don't give this any more thought, ok?"

"Alright, I just want you to be ok."

She gives him another smile as she squeezed his hand. "And I am, I promise."

After seeing the truth in her eyes, he nodded, then he changed the subject with a smile. "Mom and dad would be so proud of you."

Knowing which parents he was talking about, she didn't have to ask which ones, but she did ask. "You really think so?"

He chuckled with one more nod. "Are you kidding, Ms. Valedictorian?"

She chuckled with a nod in return. "Ok, I hear you." She then smiled as she replied with pride in her voice and eyes. "They would be proud of you too, placing 5th isn't too shabby."

He smirked, but before he could reply, they hear Calleigh's southern toned voice from the doorway. "She's right you know, they and Horatio and I are very proud of you, both of you, we couldn't have asked for better children."

They turned their heads to look at their mom and smiled at the praise she gave them before they both said at the same time. "Thanks mom."

Calleigh nodded with a smile as she walked into the room, and when she got closer to them, she stopped in front of them and held out two white envelopes, one for the each of them, as she spoke. "Before we leave for the ceremony, Horatio and I wanted to give you guys something."

They released each other's hands and took the envelope, and after opening it up, they saw what was inside before looking up at her in shock while Nicole spoke. "There has to be at least 2,000 dollars in here."

After Calleigh nodded, they shook their heads and handed it back towards her as Nick spoke for the both of them, both feeling the same way. "We appreciate it, but I, we can't..."

Calleigh cuts him off with another smile. "You can and you will." They were about to speak, but she cupped each of their cheeks and continued before they could. "It's for whatever you want to do with it, whether it would be to save it for the future, school, or spend it, just do with it that will make you happy."

Knowing there was no point in trying to give the money back, they just nodded with tears in their eyes as Nicole spoke again. "Thank you, mom."

Nick gave her the same sentiment as they started to stand up, both now towering over her, as the each wrapped an arm around her while she wrapped her arms around them and whispered with tears in her eyes. "I love you two so much, never forget that."

Nicole replied for the both of them, knowing her brother felt the same. "We never will, and we love you too."

Calleigh nodded with a sniffle, then after a few more seconds in the embrace, they started to pull back before she asked with a smile. "Are you guys about ready? We don't want to be late for your own graduation."

They nodded before Nick spoke first. "Yeah, I'll be down there in a few minutes."

"Me too." Nicole replied.

Calleigh gives them each a kiss on the cheek before she nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the siblings alone, and once they were, they hugged with smiles as they congratulated one another before she walked out of the room, and once she did, she went right to go up the hall to her room, then after she was in, she walked towards her dresser, placed the envelope on top before pulling the gold chain that had a star out from under her dress and graduation gown, then took the end of it in her hands and closed her eyes, thinking of the night she got it.

 _Flashback_

 _(Two days after their first time)_

 _They were sitting on a blanket to protect them from getting sandy as they sat on the beach during the evening, she was sitting between his legs while he had wrapped his arms around her waist with her hands on top of his, Bryan then kissed her temple and whispered against it. "You know how much I love you?"_

 _She smiled with a chuckle as she slipped her fingers through his. "Considering you told me about a billion times, especially the last two days, I would say a lot."_

 _He smiled in return as he continued. "I do. I've never felt closer to you."_

 _She smirked as she turned her body the best she could so she could look in his brown eyes. "Well, we did get as close as we can get, I don't think we can get much closer than that."_

 _He chuckled with his eyes sparkling before he replied in a serious tone and look that made her heart skip a beat in a good way. "I don't only mean it in that way, I just meant I feel like we can do anything, get through anything. I..." He stopped and shook his head with a chuckle. "I uh, I don't know what I'm trying to say here."_

 _But she reassures him as she squeezed his hand lightly. "I think I get it, more looser, freer, and dare I say, perfect?"_

 _His eyes lit up with a nod, they always seemed to be on the same page, then he slipped one of his hands out from under hers and cupped her cheek while whispering. "You are perfect."_

 _She smirked while shaking her head. "Hardly." Then she replied softly with love in her eyes. "But I don't mind hearing it from you from time to time."_

 _He ran his thumb up and down as he whispered. "I'll never stop." They lean for a kiss, but he stopped just short and said. "Oh, before I forget, I got you something."_

 _After they pulled back, she spoke as she watched him grab his messenger bag so he could open it. "You know you don't have to..."_

 _He cuts her off with a smile as he pulled out a square box and held it out in his hand. "I know, you don't even like me giving you anything on holidays, our anniversaries or birthdays, but I saw it and I thought of you, so please, just take it."_

 _She took a moment before she nodded and took the box out of his hand, making him happy, then after she opened it, she gasped and replied softly. "It's beautiful."_

 _He took the star necklace out of its box and moved it around her neck so he could clip it on as he replied. "I thought you might think that."_

 _Once it was in place, he took the box and sat it down on the blanket as she asked while holding the end of it in her hands. "What's it for?"_

 _"Just another reminder that no matter what, I'll be there for you. Just think of it as our star."_

 _She smiled with a nod. "Our star, I love it, and the gift, thank you."_

 _Sincerely he replied back. "You're welcome."_

 _After finally sharing the kiss, they pull back, and he kissed her forehead before whispering. "I love you."_

 _"I love you too."_

 _After wrapping his arms around her again, he sighed in content as he asked. "So, what's your plans for tomorrow?"_

 _With the back of her head resting against his bicep, she replied while looking out in the ocean. "Well, I have lunch with Kyle, and dinner plans with the family, but other than that I'm free, why?"_

 _When they have eye contact he almost looked apprehensive as he asked. "I was hoping we could meet up."_

 _Knowing why he looked that way, she smiled as she asked. "Our place?"_

 _"Well, our second place. I like to think this is our first."_

 _She nodded in agreement before replying to his question. "I think we can make that work."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _She cupped his cheek while she finished. "Yeah, I would hate for your ego to take a beating every time it's me planning."_

 _He smiled. "I think my ego can take it."_

 _She smirked in return. "I bet."_

 _He chuckled before turning his head to kiss her palm before looking down in her eyes again as he spoke tenderly. "You know I'm taking this step seriously."_

 _"I know, and I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend."_

 _His eyes lit up, making her heart once again melt, as he leaned down and kissed her forehead again, then her nose, making her chuckle a little, before finally a soft and tender kiss on the lips, and after he pulled back, he made sure he still had her in his arms as they looked out in front of them again with another sigh of content, feeling like they were invincible and nothing was going to happen to them, not knowing in a couple of weeks that feeling would be shattered._

 _End of Flashback_

She mentally shook head from the past as she heard her brother's voice from downstairs. "Nicole, I think you should get down here, like now."

She shouted back. "I'll be down in a minute."

She unclipped her necklace and removed it from around her neck, already missing the feel of it, then she held it up and looked at it with a smile. "I guess now that you've moved on, I should do the same. I'll never forget what we shared." Before placing the necklace on the bottom compartment of her jewelry box.

As she was closing the box, Nick's voice was heard again, telling her to hurry up, so she turned around and grabbed her cap from her bed before walking out of her room and down the hall, then as she got to the stairs she said. "Relax bro, we still have time before we are..."

She trailed off and stopped at the bottom step in shock as she saw and heard Kyle. "I think there was another reason why he wanted you to hurry up."

She shouted with a smile as she rushed over to her older brother. "Oh my god, Kyle! What are you doing here!?"

The family chuckled as Kyle wrapped his arms around his sister. "You think I could miss the best graduation ceremony that school will ever have? I think not."

"I was hoping you would be here."

"And you got your wish."

"I'm so glad. I've missed you."

"And I've missed you."

As they pulled back, she asked with the smile still on her face. "So, how long are you here for?"

"Two weeks." She nodded before he spoke with a smirk. "But of course you do have to share me with another woman in my life."

He then turned around and looked at his three month old sister, Jenny, who was in Calleigh's arms, and Nicole took a step so she was next to him before she also looked at her little sister. "Yep, she is a beauty, isn't she?"

He wrapped his arm around Nicole's shoulders as he replied. "Our parents did well, didn't they?"

Nicole chuckled with a smile. "They sure did." Then she looked at her parents. "Even though they didn't tell me that you would be here."

As Horatio was handing Anthony off to Kyle, who wanted his attention again, he spoke sincerely. "We didn't want to let you guys down, just in case his plans fell through."

Calleigh then added. "Plus, we really did want it to be a surprise."

"Well, this is a lovely surprise."

Horatio looked at his oldest with pride in his eyes. "Yes it is."

After a moment of enjoying the whole family's presence, Calleigh cleared her throat and spoke. "Ok, we really should get out of here though."

Once they nodded in agreement, the family started moving towards the front door and out of the house, then when they got to Calleigh and Horatio's vehicle, Kyle places his youngest brother in his car seat before Nicole hands him the keys to his vehicle, which the twins had been using since he's been gone, and said. "Why don't you drive Nick and I."

He nodded but Anthony didn't want his oldest brother out of his sight after he just got here, so he whined a little as he took his hand. "No!"

Kyle looked at his youngest brother with a smile as he replied. "I'll tell you what little man, tomorrow it will be just you and me, will that be ok?"

Anthony sniffled a second later as he nodded. "Ok."

Kyle smiled as he leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I love you."

"'uve you."

After he pulled back enough, he shut the door before walking to the red blazer that was next to his parent's vehicle, and once he got in, which the twins were already in, Nicole in the front seat and Nick in the back, he started the vehicle, and while they waited for their parents to leave the driveway first, Kyle looked over at his sister and said. "So, what really happened between you and Bryan?"

Nick chuckled as Nicole groaned and shook her head. "Not you too. This can not be the first question you had on your mind."

He shook his head and replied sincerely. "When it comes to the well-being of my sister, heck yes it is."

He started to drive as Nicole replied. "Listen, it doesn't matter now what happened, it's in the past.  
I'm moving on, I'll be going to a new school in the fall, starting a new chapter in my life."

Kyle nodded. "Right." Then he spoke with a smile/smirk. "Hey Nick, where is our sister gong to school this fall?"

Nick, a little confused at first on where this was going, said slowly. "University of Miami."

"Yeah, and doesn't someone else we know go there as well?"

Now understanding, Nick replied with a smile. "Are you talking about Bryan?"

"The one in the same."

Nicole, seeing what her brothers were saying, chuckled and shook her head. "No, he wasn't even a factor when I accepted." When she saw the unconvinced looks, she continued stating the points. "He wasn't. Lindsey and I both agreed that we wanted to go to the same school and to stay near home, so when we saw that Miami was the only school offering both of us full academic scholarships, we saw no other option. Besides, it is not a small campus and we more than likely won't have any of the same classes, so it isn't like we'll run into each other." She then sighed as she looked out the window and finished softly. "And on top of that, even if I wanted him back, he's moved on, he is no longer an option."

Kyle stopped at the stop light before looking over at his sister and asked softly. "Do you want him to be an option again?"

Holding back her emotions, she closed her eyes for a second before asking, almost defeated. "Please, not today, Kyle."

"OK, I'll drop it. I just wanted to make sure you're ok."

She gave him a warm smile with a nod. "And like I told Nick earlier, who said the same thing you just did, I'll be ok, I promise."

Once he was convinced, he nodded with a smile. "Alright." As he started to drive again, he cleared his throat before speaking again. "Ok, you're right, I did have another question."

Nicole smirked as she looked at her brother again. "Ha, I knew it, and let me guess, it has something to do with that beautiful girlfriend of yours."

He shyly smiled with a nod as he asked. "How is she really?"

She replied sincerely. "Other than missing you like crazy, Honestly ok. Being distracted with school helped out a lot."

He took a breath as he replied with a smile. "I'm glad, so there wasn't..."

He trailed off, and she finished. "Of course there wasn't a guy that caught her eye, she's still totally in love with you. Right Nick?"

Nick cleared his throat, feeling his heart race a little, and nodded with a smile. "Yeah of course man, who could there be, other than you?"

Feeling more relief after hearing that from his siblings, Kyle nodded with a bigger smile. "Thanks guys, that really makes me relieved. I mean don't get me wrong I want her to be happy, but..."

Nicole cuts him off with a smile. "Believe me, she is still very happy with you and proud of you."

After releasing anther breath of relief they shifted the direction to Nick and what he had planned after high school, which he wanted to become a cop so he was enrolling in the police academy.

* * *

On the football field at the high school there was a stage set up in the middle of the field, the graduate chairs was set up so there was an aisle in-between the multiple rows, behind them were more chairs for the parents or the immediate family members, and behind them was the home side bleachers where the rest of the families/friends could sit, and among those who have already shown up, Lindsey was having a moment with her mother, stepfather and half-sister, and as she was pulling back from Warrick after a congratulations were said, she smiled at them as she asked. "So, what was that phone call you had gotten before we left?"

It looked like it was an important phone call, and they seemed pretty happy about it but they had also been hush, hush about it too, so she really wanted to know.

Catherine smiled proudly at her daughter before speaking. "This is your day, honey, we'll tell you later."

"Please, I don't mind."

Catherine looked at her husband, and he replied as he placed his hand on the small of her back. "It's up to you babe."

She nodded in return before speaking as she looked at her daughter again. "I guess we do need to know how many tickets to get."

Lindsey raised an eyebrow as she asked. "Tickets, to go where?"

Catherine took a breath before answering. "You know we've been looking to adopt, right?" Lindsey nodded, she knew and was very happy about the news. "Well, we didn't only put our names down for just this area, we are looking in multiple states and cities, and well, there is someone in Vegas that picked us out."

Lindsey's smile grew with her blue eyes sparkling. "So, it's really happening?"

Warrick replied with a smile as he ran a hand up and down his wife's back. "We don't want to say it's official until we signed the papers and we are back here, but yeah, we like to think it's really happening."

She hugged them again with a chuckle. "I'm so happy for you guys."

As mother and daughter pulled back from one another, Catherine cupped her daughter's cheek and replied with tears in her eyes. "And I'm so happy and proud of you, you are my light, you know that, right?"

"I do mom, I love you."

"And I love you."

Lindsey then cleared her throat and asked. "So, when are you leaving?"

Catherine removed her hand from her daughter's cheek as she replied. "In a few days, so if you want to go with us, just let us know, the earlier the better." Lindsey nodded, then Catherine shook her head and continued with a smile. "On second thought, I believe I already know your answer."

Lindsey looked at her with confusion as she asked. "What do you mean?"

Catherine nodded her head towards the family that was walking closer to them. "Look behind you."

Lindsey still had a confused look on her face as she turned around, but the minute she saw Kyle, the confusion turned to joy and she screamed as she ran toward him. "Kyle!"

The two families smiled as they watched the couple embrace, which in their minds it probably would have been longer had they not been in public.

After Kyle and Lindsey pulled back from their kiss, they placed their foreheads together and she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too."

When they pulled back, she lightly hits him on the arm with a smile. "But why didn't you tell me?"

He cupped her cheek and said with love in his eyes. "I wanted it to be a surprise, I also didn't want to let you down if my plans had to change, and before you ask, the only ones who knew were my parents."

Lindsey nodded after a second. "Ok."

He gives her a pouty look as he asked. "So, am I forgiven?"

Lindsey smiled as he took her boyfriend's shirt and brought him closer to her and said. "Yeah, your forgiven, how can I stay mad at you."

Before they started to kiss again, Catherine cleared her throat before speaking with a smile. "Remember where you two are, honey."

They smiled against each other's lips before they pulled back, and Lindsey spoke. "Yes mom."

Catherine smiled at Kyle and held out her hand. "It's nice to see you again Kyle."

Kyle nodded with a smile as she took her hand. "You too Mrs. Brown." He then took Warrick's hand. "Mr. Brown."

They both nodded then kissed Lindsey's cheek and patted his shoulder before they walked away so they could get the seats next to Calleigh and Horatio.

There was a paused moment between the four of them before the estranged fifth member of their once solid group walked up to them. "Hi guys."

They turned to look at Bryan while Kyle wrapped his arm around his sister, showing he was protecting her, and Bryan couldn't help but wince a little, even though it wasn't him that hurt her, while Lindsey broke the tension that started to build up between them immediately. "Hi Bryan, I'm glad you could make it."

"Of course, there is no where else I would rather be today, and congratulations on being salutatorian."

She then smirked while nodding her head towards Nicole. "Yeah, with Mrs. smarty pants over there, I knew I wasn't going to get much higher than number 2."

They all chuckled, feeling like it was old times again, if only for a few seconds, then he nodded as he finished. "Well, regardless, a very well deserved accomplishment."

"Thank you."

After one more nod, he looked over at Nick. "And congrats man on number 5, not to shabby yourself."

Nick nodded with a small smile himself. "Thanks man, and I uh, I'm also glad you came."

That comment coming from him kind of surprised Bryan, but he accepted it as he looked at Kyle. "I see that you're back for this special occasion, and I realize you probably got most of your time here booked up, but I was hoping we could have a little time, if you want that is?"

Kyle nodded. "Sure, if it's ok with Nicole."

Nicole chuckled as she shook her head. "You don't need my permission."

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure you're ok with it."

Seeing the sadness in Bryan's eyes with how they are acting towards him, was starting to break her heart, but before she could drown in the sadness, she continued. "Of course I'm ok with it, he's your best friend, he's all of yours. I never wanted any of you to stop hanging out with him because of what happened, you guys should have already known this by now."

They nodded as Kyle spoke towards Bryan after clearing his throat. "I'll let you know when I'm free."

Bryan nodded with a smile. "Ok."

After one more nod, and a short pause, Nicole spoke after clearing her throat. "Guys, can I have a moment alone?"

Lindsey spoke with a smile. "Sure." Then she walked up to Bryan and gave him an unexpected hug, but he accepted it with a smile, and after they parted, Lindsey, Kyle, and Nick started to walk away.

When they were finally alone, Nicole spoke after a sigh. "I'm sorry if they hadn't been the best of friends to you this past year, or make you feel like you're the enemy, I never wanted that to happen."

"I know Nicole, but it's only natural, the guys are your brothers and she's your best friend, so of course they are going to lean more your way."

"Yeah, but I still feel bad about it."

He waved it off. "It's ok." Then he replied softly. "I'm just glad you have that support."

As they stood there looking into each other's eyes their hearts were racing while the feelings for one another still present in each other's eyes, then she cleared her throat and looked down. "I have to go."

"Yeah, I hear you have a speech to make."

She looked up at him with a nod. "Yeah." There was a small pause before she continued. "I'm glad you came today, you didn't have to."

"And miss one of the greatest accomplishments of your life, no way." She nodded as she turned around, but before she could take a few steps, he said her name. "Nicole." When she turned back around, he continued. "Congratulations for today, and for getting into University of Miami." At her confused look, he said with a smirk. "Our parents still talk, remember?"

She chuckled with a nod. "Right."

He nodded in return before finishing. "And if you ever need anything, I'm only a phone call away, day or night, always remember that."

Keeping her emotions down, she replied softly. "Thank you, and I will."

After one more nod, she finally turned around and started walking towards her seat, wiping a small tear off her cheek as she went while he watched her for a second or two before heading towards the bleachers, not wanting to miss a moment of the graduation ceremony, particularly the speech from the best valedictorian this school will ever have in his opinion.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the lack of Ducaine in the last few chapters, but I needed to set this up to move forward without skipping a bunch of things. Now Ducaine romance next chapter, hope you are ready for it. :) Thanks for reading and please review.


	4. Love is in the air Part 1

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior

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Chapter 4: Love is in the air Part 1

Three days later

Morning

In the kitchen cooking breakfast on the stove, Calleigh's task was interrupted when her husband's arms wrapped around her waist and she felt a kiss on the cheek.

"Good Morning, Handsome."

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart."

She used the spatula and flipped a pancake before turning her head slightly so she could receive a proper kiss, and after a few kisses, their moment gets interrupted when they not only heard Nicole's voice clearing, but their youngest son saying with enthusiasm. "Mommy, daddy!"

They smiled against each other's lips before pulling back, then Horatio turned around to see Nicole holding their youngest daughter while their son was standing next to his older sister.

Horatio smiled at them as he walked up to the kids. "Hi, you guys."

After taking Jenny out of Nicole's arms, Nicole picks up Anthony and places him in his high chair before she went to the fridge to get some milk for everybody, and as she was pouring the liquid in various cups/glasses, Calleigh spoke with a smile. "Thank you for offering to watch the kids tonight."

While Horatio and Calleigh were having one of their date nights, which was suppose to be at home, Nicole was going to take the kids over to the Brown/Willow residence later, so her, Lindsey and Kyle could have a sleepover there. Nick was invited, but he already had plans with another friend.

Nicole waved it off with a smile. "No problem, I figured it has been awhile for you two to spend any quality time together."

Calleigh and Horatio looked at each other lovingly. It wasn't like they disliked spending time with their family, that was far from the truth, but it had been awhile, so when Nicole suggested it, they didn't have a reason to say no, they trusted the older 'kids' to protect the younger ones, so there was no reason not to.

The gave each other a smile before she goes back to cooking while Nicole walked to the table with the milk glasses she could carry then getting the others and sitting down before she had a little small talk with her father as the family waited until breakfast was done cooking.

* * *

Sitting at a booth in a nice family restaurant, Kyle was picking at his food while Lindsey was looking at him with curiosity before she asked in concern. "You ok?"

He looked at her with a nod. "Yeah, why you ask?"

She gives him a little smile as she replied. "Because I don't think you have taken a proper bite of your food in five minutes."

He sets his fork down with a sigh. "I guess I'm not that hungry after all, I've got a lot on my mind."

Cautiously, she asked. "Can I ask what?"

He nodded before looking into her eyes. "Yeah, I mean mostly it is about you."

Now her heart was racing, and not in a good way, as she asked softly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, but I was wondering that myself."

Curiosity took over again as she asked. "What do you mean?"

He leaned forward so he could speak quietly. "When I came and picked you up this morning at your house, you wouldn't let me in, which I took that as you not wanting to be alone with me, and not to mention since I've been back our kisses have felt like we've gone back in time to Middle school, so I can't help but wonder if I did something wrong."

She shook her head with a sigh. "Kyle you have done nothing wrong. Honestly, it's not you, it's..."

Kyle cuts her off with his eyes wide. "Hold on, are you about to break up with me?"

Shocked, she looked at him with wide eyes herself. "What!? Why would you think that?"

"Because how you are starting your sentence sure sounds like a break up to me."

She paused for a second to think back to how she used her words, then she shook her head and chuckled a little. "I'm making a mess of my words here."

Concerned, Kyle reaches for her hand and replied softy. "Lindsey, what's going on, you can tell me."

She took a breath and looked at him with a nod before asking softly. "Can I come and sit next to you?"

He smiled. "You don't even have to ask."

She smiled in return as she got up from her side of the booth before moving to his side and sitting next to him while she slipped her fingers through his and looked into his bright blue eyes before she started to speak from the heart. "Since you've been back, all I want to do is have us be alone and kiss you like I need my next breath, but I'm afraid that if we do, it will lead to other things."

Getting what she's saying, he looked at her with loving eyes as he whispered. "Linds, you know I would never force..."

She cuts him off with a small shake of her head. "It's not you that I'm afraid of, it's me and what I might do."

"Wait, are you telling me you might force yourself onto me?"

She chuckled a little as she hits him lightly on the arm. "You don't have to put it like that, but." Then she shyly said with a whisper. "Yes."

Now he gets a smug look on his face as he says. "Cool."

She hits him lightly again and shook her head before she replied with a sigh. "Kyle, this is serious."

His look changed to a more serious one as he nodded his head, then he squeezed her hand lightly. "I know this is, and if you're really that unsure, nothing has to happen, I promise."

"I know I'm safe with you, which is why a part of me feels that I am ready. I know how much we love one another and are committed, so this is the next logical step, right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She nodded in return before sighing as she finished. "But the other part of me is scared because while we can become closer, there is a chance it could break us and I don't want that to happen." There was a pause, but before he could speak, she spoke again. "Do you think that's what happened between Nicole and Bryan?"

Nicole never told either of them that she had taken that step with Bryan, but they knew her well enough to know that their relationship went deeper than it had gone before.

Kyle sighed and shook his head as he brought her hand closer to his lips and kissed it softly before replying. "Nicole can be an open book about everything, including talking about her biological parents, but when it comes to her relationship with Bryan, she's a locked chest, so I honestly don't know."

She then sniffled. "Either way I don't want to lose you."

He slipped his hand out of hers and cupped her cheek before whispering. "And you won't, because whether we wait or don't, I'm with you every step of the way, and whatever problems we have, I'll try everything I can on my end to make it better."

Seeing the confidence and love in his eyes, only made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world, and she smiled in return as she whispered. "Me too."

He ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he asked with a smile. "You feel ok now?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah I do, I seemed to always feel better after we talk."

"I'm glad to hear that."

They peck each other on the lips, then he turned his attention to the food and said. "We should eat up before it gets colder."

"Or we can get it to go and take it back to the house."

He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I believe I owe you a few non-middle school level kisses."

He smiled in return before he tired to get the waitress's attention so they could leave and he gets to spend some proper alone time with his girlfriend, something he's been waiting for since he's been back. Not that spending time with his family was bad or that he didn't enjoy it, he just missed being with Lindsey alone.

* * *

After arriving back at the house, they wasted no time on catching up on a lot of kissing, and even though Catherine and Warrick were still in Vegas, so they had the house to themselves, they went up to her bedroom and on her bed.

Once they got as far as his shirt being taken off and her shirt unbuttoned, he slowed their kissing down and whispered against her skin as he was trying to catch his breath. "Linds, we better stop."

As he started to pull back, she wrapped her arms around his neck while cupping his cheek as she asked sincerely. "What if I don't want to?"

He gives her a warming smile as he replied. "We don't have to do this now."

She nodded as she replied, trusting him with her whole heart. "I can see it in your eyes that you mean that, and that's why I love you so much. But really I do feel that I am ready."

They move so they are sitting up in front of tone another and he cupped her cheek as he asked. "You sure?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah." She took a breath and continued. "For the longest time I've always imagined my first time with you, and how it would be like."

He smiled warmly again with his heart soaring with nothing but love as he asked. "And how would that be?"

She shyly smiled as she looked down at her hands. "Oh you know, I envisioned dinner and candles, the usual romantic stuff."

"We can still do that, I want to make it perfect for you."

She shook her head as she looked at him, then smiled as she took his hand. "But then I realized I don't need that, just you will be perfect enough for me. I know this is a big step, not to be taken lightly, especially our first time, but I trust you with everything in me and I'm willing to take that risk with you, do want to take that risk with me?"

He removed his hand from her cheek and slipped his fingers through hers and replied softly. "More than you can possibly know." He moved her hand up and kissed her knuckles before saying one more thing. "I love you, Lindsey Willows."

She tugged on his hand so he could move closer to her, and once he was, she whispered. "And I love you Kyle Caine." Before their lips touched and losing themselves in their world.

* * *

Lunch time

When lunch time came around, Horatio had asked Calleigh if she would like to go out for lunch, and since it was one of those rare occasions, when they weren't working the same case, that she had time for lunch at the same time as her husband, she agreed to go.

Which was why they were in a restaurant at this time, in one of the private areas, sitting close to one another, kissing as his hand started on her knee before it started to slide up her pant covered leg, she smiled against his lips as she placed her hand on top of his before she spoke as she pulled back. "What has gotten into you right now?"

Normally they would only being kissing like this if they were in the privacy of their own home, but when her husband had started kissing her, she couldn't help herself. However, she also knew that she had to stop them before everybody in the restaurant got to witness more than what they planned for lunch.

He smiled with his blue eyes bright, brighter than they have ever been, probably outside of their wedding and the birth of their children, before speaking. "Can't I just blame my actions on having a beautiful wife?"

Her heart melted as her body warmed up to his words, but she knew it was something more, so she replied as she slipped her fingers through his and smiled. "I'll admit that maybe that's part of it, but there is something more to it, isn't it?"

He sighed in content before replying. "I guess I'm just so happy right now, my oldest son is safely back in town for the time being, I have amazing kids, and like I mentioned a second ago, a beautiful wife. I just feel like I have it all."

She uses her free hand and cups his cheek as she nodded. "I know how you feel, I feel it too." She then smirked. "But I don't think expressing that in the middle of the restaurant is a good idea, no matter how secluded we are."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Before she could speak, he kissed her softly on the cheek before whispering in her ear. "I just sometimes can't help myself."

She did an uncharacteristic giggle as she looked at him shyly before she whispered in return. "And knowing that I can still make my husband feel that way, only makes it hotter."

He pulls back and asked with his eyes seemingly getting a little dark, making her heart race. "Later then?"

She cleared her throat with a head nod. "You better believe it."

Their moment of looking into each other's eyes as the heat, the good one, between them were coming off of them in waves was interrupted when Horatio's phone rings.

He took a moment before answering his cell, then after hanging up, she asks. "Back to work?"

He nodded as he scooted his body so he could get out of the booth, and while she was standing up, he was placing money on the table before taking his wife's hand and walking them out of the restaurant, counting down the hours on when they'll be alone again and won't have to think about stopping themselves with taking things further.

* * *

AN: More Ducaine Romance next chapter. :) Thanks for reading and please review.


	5. Love is in the air Part 2

AN: Thank you for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.

* * *

Chapter 5: Love is in the air Part 2

After awhile, Lindsey was laying on top of Kyle, wearing the shirt that he had been wearing earlier with a sheet going up to her waist, as he laid there with no shirt but boxers on as he ran a hand up and down her back while his other arm was under his head. "How are you doing? You ok?"

She slowly smiled as she moved so she could place her chin on to of her hand that was on his chest. "I'm ok."

Seeing that in her eyes, he smiled with his blue eyes sparkling as he moved his hand to cup her cheek. "I can see that. You look like you can light up the whole room."

She shyly smiled before asking. "And what about you?"

He started to smile. "I'm ok." He moved them, making her gasp a little, so that he was above her as he continued. "More than ok, even...and." he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips before pulling back and finishing his sentence in a loving, but serious tone. "I'm glad it was with you."

She cupped his cheek as she whispered. "Me too, I love you."

"I love you too."

As he started to lean down to kiss her again, her cell phone vibrated from her night stand, indicating she had a text message, so she gave him an apologetic look before moving to the left side as he moved to the right so he could lay back down on her bed while she grabbed her phone and looked what it said, then as she was typing a response, she spoke. "Nicole is on her way with the kids, I should jump in the shower real quick. I'll leave your shirt out in the hall for you."  
He nodded, and after they kissed softly on the lips, she gets out of bed, grabs a change of clothes and walked out of the room.

Not very long after, Kyle gets out of bed, slips his pants on, and as he walked out of her room, he hears a knock on the front door, so he gets his shirt from the floor and puts it on before walking down the stairs and towards the front door, looking through the peephole.

After seeing it was Nicole and the younger siblings, he unlocks it and opens it up with a smile as Anthony's eyes lit up. "Brother!"

Kyle chuckled as he took his youngest brother from his sister's arms and kissed him on the cheek. "Hi, little man."

He moved to the side to let his sisters in as he talked to his younger brother, and after closing the door and setting Jenny down on the floor, who was in her car seat, Nicole asked. "Where's Lindsey?"

Without even thinking about it, he casually responds. "In the shower."

Their eyes met, and not a second later, Nicole knew what that meant, so she scrunched up her face and shook her head while saying. "Ew, Ew, Ew, I did not need to know that."

Anthony was giving his older siblings a confused look as he asked Kyle. "What wong?"

Kyle just shook his head with a smile. "It's nothing little man, your sister just can't face the facts of life."

Anthony still looked confused as Nicole looked at her older brother again. "Oh, believe me I can face it, but I don't want to hear about it when it involves my brother." Kyle turned on the TV to a kids channel and places Anthony down as Nicole continued after a sigh. "Just be careful ok, this is not a game."

Making sure Anthony was distracted, Kyle looked at his younger sister and replied with raised eyebrow. "Who is the older sibling here? You don't think I know this isn't a game?"

"I..."

Kyle cuts her off this time. "Believe me, I'm very serious about this, we both are, and we are being careful."

Before she could say anything, Lindsey was walking down the stairs with a smile. "Hi everybody?"

Anthony turned away from the cartoon he was watching and smiled at Lindsey. " 'ndsey."

She smiled wider as she walked up to the boy to give him a hug, and as they pulled back, she looked at the older siblings, feeling a weird atmosphere around them, but before she could say something, he cleared his throat and said. "I uh, I'm going upstairs."

Knowing it was his turn in the shower, Lindsey just nodded before he headed up the stairs, then the best friends looked at one another, which Lindsey was giving her a more shy one as she walked over to Jenny, picked her up from her car seat before walking to the couch to sit down, and after taking a breath, Nicole walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "I just want you two to be safe."

Lindsey looked over at her best friend and replied. "We were, we will be, trust me."

Nicole just nodded before Lindsey looked down at the beautiful girl in her arms and started talking to her while Nicole turned her attention to the TV, knowing what they were saying was the truth, but also knowing a moment could change everything.

* * *

Later that night

Instead of wasting their time cooking dinner, Horatio and Calleigh elected to have take-out from their favorite Italian restaurant, so while they were sitting at the kitchen table with their plates in front of them, Horatio lifted his glass of wine and spoke with his eyes sparkling. "To my amazing wife of almost five years, whom I love more with each passing day."

She smiled with tears in her eyes as she lifted her wine glass. "To my amazing husband, being with you these almost five years have been the best five years of my life, and I'm only hoping for a lot more." After they clinked their glasses and she had taken a sip, she finished her speech as she sets her glass down. "And I love you too."

Their eyes sparkled as they started to eat, but ever so often they would sneak peaks at each other, their eyes getting a little darker each time as their hearts raced, knowing it was only a matter of time...

They silently shook their heads to concentrate on their meal.

Before they knew it, they were finally done eating, but before he could take her hand and rush them upstairs, she smiled as she cupped his cheek. "I know you've been waiting for this for awhile, but can I have a few minutes?"

Not able to speak, knowing his voice would become a little hoarse, he just nodded, and she kissed his cheek before walking out of the room so she could go upstairs, while he took a breath and started cleaning what dishes they had used before wiping down the counter.

When he felt enough time had passed, he made sure the house was locked up before he headed upstairs, and as he got closer to their bedroom door, he spoke. "Sweetheart, I'm coming in."

"Ok."

He took the needed steps to get to the opened doorway and stopped just as she was coming out of the master bathroom, making him swallow a little at the sight before his eyes, she was in a silk blue, thin strapped night-gown that went down to her knees.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally got to his wife and cupped her cheek, speaking with emotion. "You look absolutely beautiful, sweetheart." She smiled in return, but before she could speak, his lips were on hers, not that she was complaining though, she welcomed them willingly and passionately.

When he picks her, her legs automatically wrapping him around the waist as he carried her over to the bed and laid her down, his lips never leaving hers.

Eventually, he pulled back so he was standing back up, both breathing heavily as he placed his fingers on the buttons of his shirt, but she sat up on the bed and moved his fingers out of the way so she could do it as their eyes remained on one another, seeing them grower darker with passion and desire with each passing second, then once his shirt was finally off, his shoes, socks and pants came next, leaving him only in his boxers.

She took his hand and tugged him closer to her before they kissed as she laid down with him following so he was above her again, then she ran her hand up and down his back, lightly touching the scars that had marred his skin, which made him shiver in a good way and caused her to smile against his lips, happy she still had that effect on him.

After he pulled back a little, she cupped his cheek with one hand while running her other hand on the front of his chest, touching the scars there, while replying. "And you're beautiful too. I can't believe how lucky I am to have you, I love you so much."

Feeling emotional, he replied softly. "I love you too, and I think I'm the lucky one."

Before she could protest to that, his lips touched hers passionately again, wanting to show her just how lucky and how much love he had for her.

* * *

11 days later

Sitting at a table in a Mexican restaurant during lunch time, Bryan looked up from his soda to see that Kyle had walked through the door, and he gave his friend a smile, but Kyle wasn't smiling back, in fact his look was mighty intense, and despite his own physical physique, if it was someone he didn't know, he'd be very intimidated right now.

Once Kyle was near, but before Bryan could speak, he spoke low. "Before I sit down, I have to know if you had hit, cheated, or forced her into anything."

Bryan looked up at his best friend with a shock. "Of course not, you know me man." Kyle saw the truth in his eyes and nodded before he sat down while Bryan continued. "Your guess is good as mine on why she broke things off, and as much as I wanted to know, the more it drove me crazy, which made me upset just thinking about not knowing, so I did the only thing I could do, let it go and moved on."

Kyle didn't even hesitate on his next words. "But you haven't exactly moved on, have you? You still love her."

Bryan took a sip of his soda before replying after a sigh. "More than likely for the rest of my life, but what else can I do? I can't force her to talk to me."

Kyle sighed in return as he shook his head. "I don't know man, I wish I had the answer for you." He nodded before Kyle continued. "I'm sorry for what happened, and for not contacting you sooner to make sure you're ok."

Bryan waved it off and shook his head. "It's ok, she needed you more, because I know that whatever her reason was to end things, it still hurt her, bad, and I mean really bad." Kyle nodded in agreement, hearing how sad she was from his family and Lindsey, before Bryan cleared his throat and said. "Ok enough of this sad talk, how are you and Lindsey doing since you've been back here to visit?"

Kyle smiled as he picked up the water that was sitting in front of him. "Good, better than good, even."

Bryan seemed to get it, and he smiled with a nod. "Congratulations."

He chuckled with a nod as he placed his water back down after taking a sip. "Thank you."

"So, you two still trying the long distance thing?"

He took a breath and nodded. "I have no choice, I'm still crazy about her."

Bryan spoke again with another smile. "I'm really happy for you two. I don't know if I ever said that to you before."

As Kyle nodded one more time, the waitress came over to take their orders, then while they waited for the food to arrive and during their eating time, they talked/laughed about old times.

When lunch was coming to a close and the bill was paid for, Kyle cleared his throat and spoke again. "Hey Bryan."

"Yeah?"

"With the girls going to the same University as you, will you keep an eye on them?"

Bryan chuckled as he shook his head. "I'm not going to be their stalker." He then smirked. "Besides, with all that karate training they've done through the years, I believe they have the skills to take care of themselves."

Kyle chuckled with a nod. "You're probably right, and I don't mean follow them around all the time." He paused for a second before continuing. "I'm just saying that if they ever do find themselves in a situation they can't get out of on their own, and you're nearby, will you..."

Bryan cuts him off immediately with a serious tone. "You don't even have to ask that, I'll do anything for them."

Even though Bryan included both of the girls and would protect them both if it came down to that, Kyle knew it was regarded more towards Nicole.

Kyle held out his hand and cleared his throat before saying. "Thank you."

Bryan nodded with a smile as he took his best friend's hand for a shake. "Of course."

After they release hands, they stand up from their seats, and Kyle spoke again. "Keep in touch more, I would love to hear from you."

"I will, and uh, well you know..."

Bryan trailed off, not wanting to jinx him, but Kyle seemed to understand and he smiled with a head nod. "I will see you next time." Then after a pause, he smirked. "Hopefully by the time things turn in the right direction for you."

Bryan just chuckled, and after a smile and nod, Kyle turned around and headed for the exit of the restaurant, then once he paid the tip, Bryan also walked to and out of the door of the restaurant, happy he still has his friendship with Kyle.

* * *

Later that night

With it being Kyle's last night in town before he had to join his army buddies back in Afghanistan, he was having a night in with his family and Lindsey, then when dinner came around, he helped cook it and serve it, and as it was coming to a close, he stood up with his glass of ice-tea and spoke after clearing his throat. "Can I have everybody's attention." The family stopped their speaking before looking in his direction, and after a moment, he spoke again. "I just wanted to tell everybody that I'm thankful for this family, I wouldn't be who I am today without each and every one of you, and I'll carry that and the love that I have for you all with me wherever I go, or whatever I am doing, always."

The family, particularly the women, wiped their eyes as Calleigh spoke. "And I speak for all of us when I say, we are proud of the man you've became and love you very much."

As Kyle smiled, Nicole spoke with a smirk/teasing manner. "Uh, maybe you should speak for yourself."

They chuckled while Kyle moved his hand and placed to his heart like it got him right there before speaking. "That hurt you know."

She nodded with a smile before she got a little more serious. "I know, and you know that I didn't mean it."

Kyle nodded in return before giving her a smile. "I do."

Nicole then reached for her glass of ice-tea before lifting it up. "To Kyle, the best man I'll ever know and love."

Knowing all the great men that Nicole knows and loves, hearing her say that meant a great deal to him, then hearing it being agreed by everybody around the table, made him feel even more amazing. He couldn't have asked for a better family, and he was going to do everything in his power to come back to them.

* * *

AN: Things are about to take a turn, find out what happens next. Thanks for reading and please review.


	6. Taking a Turn

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: Taking a Turn

Four Months later

September, 2010

Before Shift

Sitting at the conference table in the break room, Calleigh finished her phone conversation before she sighed as she removed her phone from her ear, and Natalia, who had walked in the room and heard her, asked. "What's up?"

"Horatio and I had plans for dinner and a movie night, but our back up sitter called in sick."

With the teenagers out of the house and starting college now, Calleigh and Horatio agreed that they wouldn't always ask them to watch their younger siblings every time they wanted to have a date night, not wanting to disturb them too much from actually having a college life, so after months of searching, they found the perfect person when they don't want to ask their older kids.

Natalia nodded in understanding before suggesting. "Well, if you want, you can drop them off at my place."

Calleigh started to smile as she asked. "You sure?"

Natalia smiled. "I would be happy to watch them for you."

"Ok, I'll get back to you after I talk to Horatio."

As Natalia nodded one more time, Horatio heard the last part of what his wife said and asked. "Talk to Horatio about what?"

Natalia watched the married couple look at one another with love in their eyes as Calleigh replied. "Mattie called in sick, so Natalia had offered to watch Anthony and Jenny tonight."

Horatio looked at Natalia with a smile. "Thank you."

Natalia waved it off. "No problem."

Horatio nodded while he sat down, then not long after Natalia sat down, Eric and Ryan joined the team before Horatio passed out the assignments so they could get to work.

* * *

Later that Night

Lindsey walked out of the bathroom that was in their dorm room with a smile as she grabbed her jacket from her bed. "You sure you don't want to go to the movies with Nick and I?"

Nicole, who was sitting at her desk, sighed and shook her head. "I can't, I have a paper to do."

Lindsey nodded in understanding. "Ok, I'll see you later."

As she started to walk towards the door, Nicole spoke again, not able to stop herself. "And do I need to remind you which brother you are dating?"

Lindsey turned around and looked at her best friend with confusion, plus a little hurt. "What!? What do meant by that?"

Nicole turned her office chair around and continued. "It's just you two have been spending a lot of time together, even when I'm not around."

She then gave her best friend a 'duh' look. "Well, yeah, because we are really good friends, you've known this." She then smirked a little. "And honestly, I didn't know I needed your supervision to hang out with him."

Nicole sighed and shook her head. "I'm just worried ok, we are at an age where feelings/emotions can get confusing and out of control at times, and I don't..."

Lindsey cuts her off. "I know where my heart belongs, and that's not changing. I only see Nick as my friend." She then shyly ends with. "And maybe in the future I can add Brother-in law, but that's it, you have nothing to worry about with me."

Nicole smiled at the 'brother-in law' comment before she lost her smile and continued. "And what about Nick's feelings for you? I don't know, lately I've been sensing something on his..."

Lindsey cuts her off again, remembering their conversation they had. "It's nothing, we've talked about this months ago."

"And you're sure it has been resolved? Because if there is a second guessing moment, maybe you two need to talk again."

"I'm sure we are still on the same page."

Nicole sighed as she moved her chair back so she was looking back down at her English book. "I hope so, I just don't want anybody to get hurt. Have a nice evening."

Lindsey nodded, even though Nicole didn't see her, as she walked towards the door. "And you too, make sure you get out of the room a little tonight, I would hate for you to be studying on a Friday." Then after Lindsey walked out of the room and was now standing in the hall, she stopped and thought about Nicole's words regarding Nick for a second, and maybe her best friend did have a point, while it wasn't in a creepy way, she's noticed a few lingering looks lately, and he did look a little happier to see her every time they met up to hang out.

Lindsey took a breath before continuing her walk, it looked like they do needed to have a conversation, she just didn't want to lose him as her friend. He's been an amazing friend through the years, especially this last one, but she couldn't have him thinking there was any shot that anything could happen. She was fully committed to one man, and one man only.

* * *

30 minutes later

After about 10 minutes of reading the same sentence, Nicole sighed as she placed her pencil down and ran her hand over her eyes. Being a bookworm pretty much since she was old enough to go to school, hence one of the reasons why she ended up being valedictorian, she never had a problem with school work. But for some reason at this moment she just couldn't concentrate, her mind was all over the place, and it wasn't just one thing, it was a bunch of random things.

She sighed again and pushed her chair back a little before she stood up and stretched while thinking. _'Maybe Lindsey's right, I should go out and enjoy a little fresh air.'_

As she was lowering her arms to her side, she heard something, like a piece of paper/flyer slip under her door while a male voice was yelling down the dorm hall about some kind of party.

Curious, she walked over to the door, bent down and picked up the flyer, showing an address to a frat house.  
Now normally, she wouldn't be caught dead at a party like this, not that she didn't like to have fun or enjoy herself from time to time, but usually she would only go to a party if she knew most if not all the people there, or at least had a group that she knew surrounding her, and going to something like this she'll certainly be out of her comfort zone. But then again this was college, and she should try new things, right?

As that thought kept going over her head a few times, she finally made her decision, deciding it was time to have a little fun, so she walked over to her bed to get her jacket, then got her purse and the keys to the vehicle that Kyle has let the twins borrow, from the desk before walking out of the room, then closed the door before walking down the hall.

* * *

After picking the kids up at daycare after work, then dropping them off at Natalia's a few hours later, Calleigh walked back into the house with the smell of dinner in the air, so she smiled as she placed her purse and jacket on the coat hanger before walking towards the kitchen.

When she got there, she stood in the doorway to see her husband with his back towards her, cooking, a sight she'll never get tired of.

Years ago when she had first tried his cooking, she had to admit she was quite surprised that it was good, and even more surprised when she learned that he basically taught himself.

She smiled a little wider as she walked into the room, then she wrapped her arms around his waist when she was near, and he smiled as he stopped what he was doing for a minute. "Hi sweetheart."

"Hi handsome, what you are cooking is smelling delicious."

He moved the wooden spoon to the spaghetti sauce, dipped some on it before turning around and holing it to her mouth. "See if the taste is just as delicious."

Her green eyes bright, she replied. "Gladly."

She took the sauce off the spoon with her mouth, tasted it, and swallowed it before licking her lips with her eyes closed. "Yep, even better." She opened her eyes and cupped his cheek. "I think you outdid yourself tonight."

He smiled with pride. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're very welcome."

They kissed softly before his concentration went back to the food while she got the wine and set up the table, both looking forward to this homemade dinner date they had planned.

* * *

Standing in the living room at the frat house, Bryan was talking to Ashley and their friends, then as they were laughing, Bryan saw something he never thought he would ever see, Nicole walking inside a frat house. He knew how she felt about parties like this, so to see her there, shocked him. But also knowing what could happen with parties like this, there was no way he was taking his eyes of her, and he was almost going to go over to her, but it wasn't like he could tell her she shouldn't be here, she had every right, just like everybody else.

As he thought that, she was going to turn her body so she could look towards the living room, when a young man started speaking to her, making her stop her movements.

"Hi, I'm Patrick."

Patrick, while looking pretty much average with brown hair and brown eyes, wasn't that bad looking at all. In fact, he also looked kind, so she thought she would be ok, and her tense feeling died down a little as she spoke with a small smile. "Hi, I'm..."

He cuts her off with a smile. "Nicole, I know, we have English together, I sit behind you."

With school still being in its early days, she hadn't really had time to get to know her classmates, so she shyly shook her head and replied. "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

He shook off her embarrassment. "It's no problem." As she nodded in relief, he continued after clearing his throat. "So, would you like a drink?"

There was a pause before she asked. "Umm, is it ok if I have a soda?"

He nodded with a chuckle. "Of course, follow me."

Nicole nodded before following Patrick to the left, while Bryan watched them from the right, which made him distracted on what Ashley was saying, so she asked as she placed her hand on Bryan's arm. "You're not even listening to me, what's got you so distracted?"

He looked at the other woman and asked. "Huh? What?"

She continued with a smile as she turned her head. "I asked what has gotten you so..." Then she trailed off when she saw Nicole in the dinning room area as she was talking to other students. "I see." She then looked at Bryan again before asking. "You want to go say hi?"

A part of him did, but the other part knew he would hurt Ashley, and he didn't want to do that to her, so he shook his head and looked at her with a small smile. "It's ok."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm here with you, it's ok. Continue."

She nodded again before continuing, and while his attention was on Ashley, he couldn't help but sneak a few peaks here and there towards Nicole's way.

No more than 10 minutes had passed when Bryan noticed something a little different with Nicole during one of his sneak peaks. She had her hand up to her forehead and the guy that had met her at the door had his arm around her, in what seemed like a way to keep her standing up than anything else, then the second they started walking towards the stairs to go up them, Bryan saw her sway, and something went off in him, so without even thinking on his actions, he sits his red cup down on the coffee table and headed in her direction as his voice boomed through the opened area. "Where do you think you are taking her? And what did you do to her drink?"

Immediately the music and talking had stopped as Nicole looked a little confused and dazed. "Bryan, what are you doing here?"

Before Bryan could speak, Patrick, who still had his arm around her, smiled at him. "It's really none of your business, man."

Once again before Bryan could speak, Nicole spoke as she got dizzy again. "I'm not feeling too well."

Patrick brought her closer to him and whispered in her ear. "You'll be fine in a minute, I'll take really good care of you."

Bryan saw red in that moment and he stepped up to him. "Like hell you will."

Seeing the look in Bryan's eyes, Patrick relaxed his grip on Nicole, and Nicole, while dizzy as her head continue to spin, started to quickly, yet stumbled, out of house, while Bryan took a hold of his shirt and said. "If I hear you've ever done this before and ever do it again, it will be one of the worst days of your life." Bryan then released the other man roughly, making him stumble backwards a little but keeping his balance at the end, before finishing in a hard tone. "Get out of here, and I better not see your face again." Then not even paying attention to the people looking at him, he walked outside and saw Nicole on her hands and knees getting sick in the grassy front yard, so he walked up to her and kneeled down before whispering softly. "You ok?"

She nodded as she closed her eyes, embarrassed and a little scared. "Yeah, I think so."

"Stay right here, I'll be back in a minute."

She just nodded as he stood up, then as he turned around, he saw Ashley on the front deck, so he walked up to her. "I'm sorry Ashley, but..."

She cuts him off with a small smile. "It's ok, I understand."

He pulls his keys out of his pocket and hands them to her. "Can you drive my vehicle back to my dorm?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Ok, be safe."

"I will, and I'll see you later."

He nodded before he turned around and headed back towards Nicole, then helped her up and guided her to her vehicle as she had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe I trusted him, he seemed so nice." Before he could speak, she looked over at him and said softly. "I guess I forgot that not all men are as sweet as you." Then more tears came as she finished. "Thank you for being there for me."

They stop at the passenger side door, and not even thinking about it, he brought her in his arms and whispered softly as he held back the shivers while thinking what could have happened to her had he not been there. "I always will be."

* * *

Three hours later

Once dinner was done making and eaten, the dishes taken care of, Horatio and Calleigh headed for the living room to enjoy their movie part of their date, but after it reached its half an hour mark, their attention turned to themselves and they were laying on the couch, kissing, smiling and laughing, just letting the time slip away from them, and as his hand slipped under her shirt, touching her stomach, she smiled against his lips before pulling back slightly. "You know if you didn't want to watch the movie, we could have just skipped that part of our date."

He smiled in return, and after a small peck on the lips, he pulled back and replied with concern. "I'm sorry, if..."

She cuts him off while cupping her cheek. "Oh, I'm not complaining. I'm just saying we could have been a lot further than we currently are."

He smiled again, his eyes getting a little darker as he leaned down to kiss her, but right as their lips touched, his phone started to ring, making them both sigh a little before he pulled back again. "I better get that."

She nodded as they moved so they were now sitting up on the couch, then he reached for his phone that was on the coffee table and answered it in his usual greeting. "Caine." There was a pause before a tension came over him as he stood up from the couch quickly. "Is he ok?" Calleigh looked up at him in concern, her heart racing as she saw him pacing with a hand up to his forehead.

When he was finally done with the conversation, which he was now in the middle of the living room with his back towards her, Calleigh asked after clearing her throat. "Horatio, what's going on? What happened? Who is 'he' you referred to?"

Horatio took a moment before he turned to look at her, and a sadness/fearful look was on full display, making her heart break as she got up from the couch and went right to him to cup his cheek, and after another moment, he spoke softly, almost like he was still in shock. "It's Kyle, something bad happened, and now he's in the hospital, fighting for his life."

Calleigh gasped, then with tears in her eyes, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him as he was slowly breaking down each second that went by.

* * *

AN: More to come soon. Thanks for reading and please review.


	7. Finding Out

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: Finding Out

15 minutes earlier

After their movie, Nick and Lindsey had dinner, which wasn't a romantic setting, but all through it, and even during the movie for that matter, it kept Lindsey's mind wondering about his true feelings for her, so as they were walking out of the restaurant, she couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Nick, can we talk about something?"

He smiled with a nod as he moved is hand towards a bench. "Ok, you want to sit down?"

She nodded as they go and sit down, and once they were, there was a pause before she looked over at him. "How do you honestly feel about me?"

Nick's heart started to speed up a little as he smiled. "You know how I feel about you, you're one of my best friends."

"I want the truth."

Nick then stands up and he shook his head. "That is the truth." Then he looked at her suspiciously. "But if you have something you need to tell me, go right ahead."

Lindsey stood up too, looking into his eyes. "I care about you, you're one of my best friends too, you've been one of my best friends since I moved here, and this last year I couldn't have imagined getting through it without your friendship. That's my truth."

Looking into each other's eyes, Nick nodded before he looked down and spoke softly. "I know, and I know that's all you'll ever see me as."

Feeling concerned, she places his hand on her shoulder and whispered. "Tell me, Nick, tell me how you feel."

When he looked into her eyes again, she could have almost gasped at the pain and sadness he was showing her. "I can't. I do not want be that guy, that brother." He took a breath before he stepped back, letting her hand fall. "So, maybe it's time I just take a step back."

She started to have tears in her eyes, still not wanting to lose him. "Nick, there has to be a way we can work this out? I don't want to lose you."

"And right now I don't know how that's going to work."

Before she could speak again, Nick's cell phone rang, so he cleared his throat and pulled it out of his pocket before answering it without seeing who was on the other end. "Hello...Hi mom...what's wrong?...Oh my god...we'll be right there...yeah, Lindsey's with me...Ok, bye."

As he was pulling his phone away from his ear in a dazed state, Lindsey spoke in a frantic tone, seeing his reaction after hearing his end of his phone conversation. "Nick, what's wrong?"

He cleared his throat again and spoke, almost not believing his words. "We need to go to my parents house, something happened to Kyle."

She gasped with tears in her eyes as she nodded before the two of them rushed to her vehicle.

* * *

15 minutes earlier

(Around the same time Nick and Lindsey walked out of the restaurant)

Nicole gasped as she sat up in bed after being asleep the last few hours, but realized her mistake as she placed a hand on her forehead, feeling a dizzy spell came over, then jumped a little at the sound of Bryan's voice as he was handing her a glass of water. "You ok?"

She gave him a little smile as she took the glass from him. "Other than this killer headache, yeah. I think so."

He watched her take a sip as he sat down on her office chair that he moved next to her bed before speaking in a soft/scared tone. "I was really worried, you know."

She nodded, and after one more sip she placed the water on her nightstand before she laid back down on her side, facing him. "I know, and I'm sorry I was there in the first place. I couldn't concentrate on my school work, and the flyer slipped under my door so I guess I took that as a sign I needed to get out."

Still looking concerned, he continued to speak. "Just please, the next time you are more careful on who you are taking drinks from, especially at a party like that."

"I promise." She sighed and finished sadly. "Because believe me, if I wanted to turn to alcohol, or pills for that matter, I would have already done it."

He looked at her sadly, his heart breaking as he took her hand without even thinking about it, having the strongest urge to comfort her, and she finally allowed him to do just that.

As the seconds passed by, Nicole laid there watching him as he was looking at her while running his thumb over the back of her hand, and in that moment she wanted to tell him everything, why she broke their hearts by pushing him away, so she took a breath, closed her eyes for a second before opening them back up and saying softly. "I thought I was pregnant."

She watched Bryan's eyes widen in a mixture emotions as he whispered brokenly. "Nicole."

He looked at her stomach for a few seconds, and when their eyes connected again, sadness joined the party, which she understood why that look became the dominate one, so she shook her head and squeezed his hand lightly. "I never was. I didn't lose anything, it just turned out to be the flu."

Before she could continue, he nodded while replying softly. "I remember that, you were so sick you wouldn't let me near you for two days. Then a few days later, you broke up with me."

"Yeah." She continued, going back to the original conversation after a sniffle. "The second 'pregnant' came to my mind before I found out it was just the flu, it rocked me to my core. I was so scared, and I knew that if I had asked you to slow things down, especially after I convinced you that we would be ok, you would have been sweet and went along with it, but I didn't want to do that to you, part of being in college is experiencing new things and I didn't want to feel like I was holding you back on experiencing that, so as hard as it would have been to imagine you with other women, I only wanted you to be happy. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Bryan shook his head while trying to keep his emotions intact as he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb up and down to wipe the few tears that leaked down from her eyes. "Do you remember what I said that night?"

She sniffled as she whispered. "You said a lot of things that night, a lot of wonderful things."

"Yeah, but what's one of the biggest things I said that you took away."

She didn't even hesitate. "That you loved me."

He gave her a soft smile as he said. "And..."

She paused for a second before replying. "That you wanted me to be your first, last and all the in-betweens."

He wiped a few more tears off her cheek as he finished. "Which that still hasn't changed."

She looked a little shocked as she tried to say. "But..."

He cuts her off with a loving smile. "I'm not going to lie and say I was never temped, but the thought of actually going through with it made me feel like...well like I was..."

He trailed off as she finished for him. "Cheating on me?"

"Yeah."

Nicole sniffled again as she whispered. "I'm so sorry Bryan."

He nodded again as he squeezed her hand again. "It's ok." Then he removed his hand from her cheek and placed it on her stomach, smiling a little as he continued. "You know I would have been there. I'll admit I may have been freaked out, but I still would have been there for you had you been pregnant."

She smiled slightly as she placed her hand on top of his while she nodded. "I do know that, and believe me, I wanted that future with you." Then she finished softly. "But not at 17. I wasn't, we weren't ready for that. I love my parents and I'm thankful they kept Nick and I, very proud of them even, but they were so young and I can only imagine how hard it was on them. Raising a child, two even, can be hard enough, but doing it while you're going to school and needing work can be even harder."

He nodded on more time as he spoke softly/comforting. "I know, and you're right, we weren't ready for that type of responsibility."

When his eyes went back to her stomach, she moved her hand to cup his cheek as she whispered. "But one day, I know you'll be the best dad any little boy or girl could ask for."

He moved his eyes to look at her with tears in his eyes. "And any boy or girl that you have will be the luckiest child in the world."

There was a pause before she asked while her heart was pounding. "I may have no right to ask this, but are we talking about the same children here?"

Bryan's heart started to pound, and he was about to open his mouth to speak when her cell phone started to ring from her nightstand.

She winced as she looked over at it, and after he grabbed it, he handed it to her and she took it from him, answered it and brought it up to her ear. "Hello. Hi mom...what's wrong?...Oh my god...Yeah, I'll let him know, it should come from me...alright, bye."

As she slowly moved her phone from her ear, she had tears in her eyes as he looked at her with more concern than he did when she had answered the phone. "Nicole, what's wrong?"

"It's uh...It's Kyle, something happened. I uh, I have to get home."

Looking shocked and even more worried, he nodded as he stood up. "Ok, I'll drive you, let's go."

She nodded as she slowly got out of bed, then after making sure they had jackets, keys and phones they walked out of her dorm room so they could go to her parents house to hear what had happened.

* * *

Once the teenagers made to the Caine house, which they couldn't help but be a little surprised that Nicole and Bryan showed up at the same time, but knowing that wasn't their focus right now, they brushed that aside, and Nick asked in worry as he was sitting down on the couch with Lindsey, and the new arrivals, Nicole and Bryan. "Dad, what's wrong with Kyle?"

Before Horatio could speak, Nicole did with tears in her eyes as she placed her hand up to her mouth. "He isn't...is he?"

She couldn't get the words out, but they were all thinking the same thing, and Horatio shook his head and walked to the coffee table before sitting down and placing his hand on top of her daughter's as Bryan's arm went around her shoulders for comfort. "No, sweetie, he isn't. All I was told was that his team was under attack, and he is now in the hospital, fighting for his life. We won't know more until he has woken up." The women had tears in their eyes, while the men tried to hold on to their emotions the best they could, and as Lindsey moved closer to Nick, he wrapped his arm around her for comfort as Horatio spoke again. "I'm leaving to go be with him, but I don't know how long I'll be gone, so I want you guys to help out your mom, please?" He sighed before finishing. "I realize you guys have a college life now, but..."

Nicole cuts him off while shaking her head. "Of course, we'll help mom out, no questions asked."

He gives her a small smile. "Thank you, I love you."

She sniffled with a nod. "I love you too."

He then looks at his son. "And I love you."

He nodded sadly. "I love you too, dad."

Horatio stands up, and kisses their heads before looking at Calleigh, and she nodded while holding out her hand, then after taking it, she walks them upstairs so he could pack to leave.

* * *

As he was finishing packing up his carry-on and suitcase, he shook his head and replied softly. "I'm sorry."

Calleigh ran her hand up and down his back as she whispered. "What could you possible be sorry for? You need to be with him, and as much as I would love to join you, you know that's not possible. We'll be ok, no matter how long it takes to get you two back here."

He turned around and cupped her cheek with his eyes shinning with tears. "I love you, sweetheart."

"And I love you, handsome."

She brings him close to her and they kiss with a little passion, not knowing how long they'll be apart and wanting to make it last as long as possible.

When they pulled back, they placed their foreheads together and she whispered. "Why don't we pick up Anthony and Jenny before we get you to the airport, so you can have a little time with them."

He nodded in agreement as they pulled apart, then after a moments pause, he grabbed everything he needed, with her help, before the two of them walked back downstairs, and after saying goodbye to the teenagers, they walked out of the house so she could take him to get their younger kids and to the airport.

* * *

After multiple hours and a few connecting flights later, Horatio finally found himself in front of Kyle's hospital room, which was closed at the moment, so he took a few moments to prepare himself of what he might see when he walked in, but the moment he opened the door, and saw his oldest son with a few cuts and bruises on his face while hooked up to machines with his eyes closed, nothing could prepare him for that sight and it made him lose his breath with his heart pounding.

When he was finally able to move, he took a deep breath as he walked fully in the room, then he walked over to his son, took his hand, bent down to his ear and whispered with passion, willing his son to wake up. "You fight Kyle, you have so much to live for, a family who loves you. Whatever happens after you wake up, we'll deal with it together. I'm not leaving your side until we both are going home, and you are, you hear me." He squeezed Kyle's hand before finishing, his voice cracking at the end with tears in his eyes. "I love you, and my world will not feel complete without you in it, so please come back to me, son."

With his head still bent down, he closed his eyes and prayed like he's never prayed before. He's lost too many people in his life, and he hoped above everything that he wasn't going to add his oldest son to that list.

* * *

AN: Find out what happens to Kyle next chapter. Thanks for reading please review.


	8. Reunited

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8: Reunited

1 Month later

In the kitchen, Lindsey and Nick were making sandwiches, and after a moment, Lindsey looked over at him and spoke. "Nick..."

But Nick cuts her off with the shake of his head. "We don't need to bring it up, we have more important matters to think about."

They hadn't really talked about that night before they had gotten that unexpected phone call, so Lindsey wanted to make sure they were going to be ok, and she nodded her head. "Yeah, it's important, but so are your feelings."

"What I was feeling was crazy, impractical, and a losing battle from the start, I don't even know what I was thinking. I mean why would this beautiful, amazing woman be interested in me when she is dating the older, better brother." He sighed before finishing. "So, just forget about it ever being mentioned, and yes, we'll be ok, I just need a little time."

He went to pick up a piece of bread when Lindsey spoke with a shy smile. "And if there were two of me, the other one would be the luckiest woman on earth to have a man like you."

He looked at her and shook his head. "Linds, you don't have to..."

She cuts him off as she placed her hand on top of his. "I mean it, and I don't ever want to hear you sell yourself short again. I see the man you are becoming, and any woman that you choose to have a life with better know how lucky she is." She then smirked. "Because if she doesn't, I will have some choice words for her."

Nick couldn't help but chuckling as he replied with sincerity. "Thank you."

"I'm only stating the truth, but you're welcome."

They smiled at each other, then after taking her hand off his arm, they continue on making lunch.

* * *

In the living room, Bryan and Nicole were sitting on the couch, while Anthony was in his lap putting an age appropriate puzzle together, and Jenny was in her older sister's arms being feed with milk through a bottle. It was silent for several minutes when Bryan looked up from Anthony and looked at Nicole before replying softly. "Yes."

Nicole looked up from her sister to look at him with a confused look on her face. "Yes what? I didn't say anything."

He smiled with his eyes sparkling, making her heart race as he replied. "A month ago you asked me a certain question, and my answer is yes they are. Of course when the timing is right and we are really ready to have them."

She knew there should have been an obvious question, but she was too happy to hear what he had said that she didn't care at the moment, so she just smiled brightly as she asked. "Yeah?"

He nodded with a smile in return. "Yeah."

Their smiling moment was interrupted when they heard Calleigh walk in the room as she was talking on the phone. "I will handsome, make sure you two have a safe trip, give him my love, I love you too, bye."

As she was pulling her phone from her ear to end the phone call with her husband, Nicole turned her head to look at her mother, who just came out of the room her parents were using as an office that they had just converted into a bedroom for Kyle, which was next to the dinning room. "Is everything ok?"

Calleigh smiled with a nod as she walked further into the living room. "Yes, they are still set to be here on Saturday."

Nicole smiled. "I'm glad, I really want to see him." Then she grew a little sad. "Mostly to make sure he's ok, or as ok as could be expected after what happened."

Going on feeling, Bryan moved his hand and placed it on her leg, surprising both her and Calleigh, but neither one said anything, and Calleigh spoke with sympathy. "I know, sweetie." Then she walked towards her daughters so she could pick up her youngest, and as she started to burp her, Anthony smiled as she looked up her mother with bright eyes. "Mommy, I did it!"

Calleigh smiled at her son, seeing the completed puzzle. "Yes you did, congratulations honey, you going to show daddy when he comes home?"

Anthony looked around excitedly, expected to see him. "Daddy?"

They chuckled a little before Calleigh spoke softly. "Very soon, honey, I promise, ok?"

Anthony nodded, feeling a little sad. He had really missed his daddy, but he believed he'll see him soon since his mother said he would.

Before things took a really sad turn, Nick and Lindsey walked into the room, carrying sandwiches and some baby food for Anthony.

"I hope you are all hungry." Nick said.

Anthony now smiling when food was being mentioned as he raised his hand. "Me!"

They chuckled, and while the food was getting situated, Calleigh, who was still standing in the middle of the living room burping her daughter, watched the interaction, feeling more proud of her family than ever before. Bryan and Lindsey may have not been hers, but as long as she's known them and their parents being her friends, she still thinks of them as that, and considering Lindsey is still dating Kyle, and whatever is going on with Nicole and Bryan these days, they might as well be.

She cleared her throat and started to speak, stopping their movements and laughter. "Thank you guys for everything you've done for me this last month, your help is greatly appreciated."

With Horatio being gone, the teenagers helped her, not only moving things around to make the office into the bedroom, but they were a big help watching and taking care of Anthony and Jenny, especially when she had to stay late at work since her duties multiplied with her being the active supervisor, which they were doing all of this while trying to be college students themselves.

Nicole spoke for all of them with a smile. "That's what families should do, be there for one another, especially when they needed one another the most, but you're welcome anyway."

Calleigh just nodded with another smile, and they nodded back before they go back to eating and talking, then as Calleigh was finishing burping her daughter, her eyes traveled to a framed picture of her husband and Kyle that was taken on Kyle's graduation day that was sitting on the end table, and she does a small sigh, continuing the hours on when she'll see them both again.

* * *

Later that evening

After leaving the Caine residence, Bryan took Nicole back to the dorm, which Lindsey would have come but she wanted to visit her mom, stepdad and sister, and when they stopped in front of her door, she took a breath and looked at him with a smile. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"You've just been amazing this last month, helping out my mom, and not to mention how you are with my siblings, they just adore you."

He smiled and waved it off like it was no big deal. "I'm glad I could help."

"I know." Then she took a breath before continue. "I'm just a little surprised that Ashley..."

He cuts her off. "There is no Ashley, at least in that way, and hasn't been for weeks."

She looked at him a little shocked. "Bryan I'm..."

He cuts her off again as he cupped her cheek. "There is nothing to be sorry about, and you shouldn't feel guilty. She just knew what I've known all along."

She swallowed as she whispered. "Which is?"

He ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he whispered. "That it didn't matter how long you and I are apart, my heart will always belong to you. I was never going to get over you." Nicole started to smile as Bryan finished with. "So, Nicole, can we please be girlfriend and boyfriend again? We can go as slow as you want, we can even start with just hand holding, just as long as..."

She took a hold of his shirt and tugged him closer to her while whispering. "Come here."

He started to smile, but didn't fully develop because his lips were on hers, not that he was complaining one second, he finally felt whole again after so long.

When they finally pulled back after several minutes, she closed her eyes as their foreheads touched and she sighed in content, also feeling she was finally complete again.

She spoke a few seconds later. "You were right."

He pulled back a little so their eyes could meet. "About what?"

She smiled as she finished. "I never stopped loving you, and I don't think I ever will."

He smiled back, almost smugly this time, and she just chuckled while shaking her head as he brought her to him again, whispering in a more serious tone. "I love you too."

They share a few more kisses before she stepped back, cleared her throat and asking a little shyly. "You want to come in." Before he could speak, she continued. "Just to hold me, I've missed being in your arms."

He didn't even hesitate. "I've missed having you in my arms, and I would love to just hold you."

"Thank you."

He shook his head as he cupped her cheek again. "No need to thank me, I meant what I said, we can go as slow as you want, I just want to be with you."

She nodded before she turned her attention to the door, then after it was opened, she stepped in the doorway and looked back at him while holding out her hand, he then slipped his fingers through hers without a second thought before they walked into her dorm room, shutting the door behind them, happy they were once again a couple.

* * *

Two days later

As much as the whole group wanted to be at the Caine house today, they didn't want to overwhelm Kyle on his first day back home, so they decided they'll have a get together sometime during the week or next weekend.

But while the whole group wasn't there, Lindsey and Bryan were the exceptions, so they were waiting at the house with the family when Calleigh got a text message on her phone, and after reading it, she sets it down on the coffee table and stands up, taking Anthony from Nicole's arms as she spoke. "They are outside, but I want to take Anthony out there first so I can reassure him that it's ok."

They all nodded before Calleigh walked towards the front door before opening it, and after taking a few steps outside, she turned to the right to see the driveway, and immediately Anthony's eyes lit up and smiled. "Daddy!"

Horatio smiled at his youngest son. "Hi Buddy."

Next, Anthony, not only noticed his oldest brother was home again, but he was now sitting down in a chair that had wheels, something he's never seen before, so he looked at his mom with uncertainty. "Mommy?"

Calleigh gives her youngest boy a reassuring smile. "It's ok, Anthony, things might look a little different than the last time you saw him, but he's still your brother."

Finally they hear Kyle's voice as him and Horatio were halfway on the walkway. "Yeah, little man, and I still love you very much, so how about coming to give me a hug, I could really use one right about now."

Anthony turned to look at Kyle again, still a little unsure, then when he really looked at him and saw the smile slowly come to his face, he realized that he was still in fact his brother, so the little boy smiled in return. "Ok."

Calleigh placed him down and as quickly as the little boy could go, he went right to his older brother and Kyle lifted him up, placed him in his lap and gave him the biggest hug he could as he closed his eyes with a sigh of content while holding back his tears as Calleigh and Horatio watched the scene with their own tears in their eyes, knowing there had been a chance that they would have never gotten to see them together again.

A few moments later they pulled back, but Anthony remained on his lap, as Calleigh, who was now standing in front of him, cupped his cheek with tears in her eyes. "Oh Kyle, I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you and love you so much."

Kyle looked up at his stepmom with tears in his eyes with a nod. "I've missed you and love you too, and I'm glad to be back."

She bent down and kissed his cheek before giving him a hug and whispering. "Your other siblings, Bryan, and Lindsey are inside."

He nodded, and after another kiss on the cheek, Calleigh straightened up and moved to the side so she wasn't blocking his way, then after a breath, he looked at his younger brother and asked. "You want a ride inside?" He nodded with a bright smile, making Kyle smile bigger before replying. "Ok, hold on to me, and we can go."

Anthony wrapped his arms tight around his brother's neck, making Kyle chuckle a little. "Not so tight little man, gently."

The little boy shyly smiled as he loosened his grip, then a second later, Kyle places his hands on the wheels to his wheelchair and pushed forward so he could go inside, and when he had turned the corner, Calleigh and Horatio looked at one another before they took a big step towards one another and hugged as tightly as they could while they both sobbed for many different reasons, but mostly out of relief that their boy was home.

When they calmed down a little, they pulled back and he cupped her cheek with a shaky sigh. "I've missed you so much, sweetheart."

She sniffled with a nod. "I've missed you too, handsome."

He brings her to him and they kiss, keeping it as tamed as possible with them still being outside and anybody could see, while pouring everything they felt in it, and when they pulled back, they got back into each other's arms again as they whispered their love.

After another moment, he kissed her head and whispered. "Let's go inside, I some other greetings to make."

She smiled as she pulled back before wrapping her arms around his waist before they headed toward the front door, Horatio ready to be reunited with his whole family after what felt like an eternity of being away from them.

* * *

AN: More to come if anybody is still interested in it. Thanks for reading and please review.


	9. Walking Away?

AN: Thanks for the support.

* * *

Chapter 9: Walking Away?

After a few hours of family time, where Kyle spent most of his attention to his younger siblings, which they understood, it was dinner time, and instead of the whole family in the kitchen to enjoy the meal together, Calleigh and Horatio had dinner out on the deck with their youngest kids so Kyle could spend time with his other siblings, girlfriend and best friend.

Eventually dinner time was winding down, and after multiple reminiscing stories ended, Nicole spoke after a sigh. "I have a paper that's due on Monday, and I haven't even started, so I better head out."

Kyle replied with a smirk. "My sister the slacker, who would have thought that college would change you so much."

They all chuckled as Nicole stood up with a smile. "Ha, ha very funny." Then she did a sigh as she continued. "I just wanted to make sure you got here ok."

He turned his wheelchair around so he could take his sister's hand before looking up at her with his blue eyes sparking. "I'm here, and I'm ok. Well, as ok as I can be under the circumstances. Don't delay what you need to do on my account, alright."

She nodded, trying not to cry. "Ok, but if you do need anything, call me."

"You know I will."

She nodded again as she leaned down to give him a hug, and he hugged her back as she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too."

As they pulled back and Nicole stood up straighter, Bryan spoke as he stood up from his seat. "And since I'm her driver, that's my cue."

They chuckled as Kyle held out his hand. "Ok man, we should hang out soon, make it a guys night."

Bryan nodded with a smile as he took his best friend's hand so they could do their one armed hug. "You got it, just let me know when."

Kyle nodded as they pulled back, then after they released hands, Bryan looked at Nicole with a smile. "You ready?"

She smiled with a nod in return. "Yeah, I just want to say goodbye to my parents."

He nodded, and once they did the other rounds of goodbye, they left the room, which as they did, the siblings saw that Bryan's hand was on the small of her back, making Kyle speak as he turned his wheelchair around so he was facing the table again. "Ok, is it just me, or are they back together?"

And his evidence wasn't only what he just witnessed, it was also their easy going attitude towards one another, and the happy looks they had on their faces when they looked at one another through out their evening.

Lindsey took that answer with a bright smile. "After what I walked in on the two of them doing two nights ago, I would have to say, yeah."

Nick replied to that as he stood up. "And that's my cue to leave the room, I don't want to know a thing about that."

Before Lindsey could continue, Nick was already out of the room, and she shook her head with a chuckle before looking at Kyle, who was giving her a queasy look, and she continued with the smile still on her face. "Not what I meant. They were fully clothed, on top of the blankets, just holding one another while they slept. They looked so peaceful, more peaceful than I've seen them in..." She paused for a second to think, then she blew out a breath and shook her head, almost not believing her own words. "Man, in over a year, is that right?"

Kyle nodded before he replied with a smile. "Well, I'm happy for them. I guess whatever was blocking them from being together was finally resolved, and do you know what that was, by any chance?"

"No, I don't, but as long as they are past whatever it was and are happy now, then I'm not even going to ask. They deserve this, they are where they are suppose to be."

Kyle smiled a little wider as he placed his hand on top of hers while whispering. "Just like us."

Lindsey gave him a smile with a nod before she cleared her throat and slipped her hand out of his. "I should get the dishes."

Kyle watched her stack the plates together and started walking towards the kitchen sink before he spoke after clearing his throat. "Linds, if you want out of this, just tell me now."

She nearly dropped the dishes after he said that, then turned around and said in a shocked. "Kyle, I..."

But he cuts her off as he turned his wheelchair around so he could look at her. "If I'm going to get through this, I need to know now if you already have one foot out the door."

Lindsey sets the plates down on the counter and walked over to him, shaking her head with tears in her eyes. "I don't, I promise." She took a moment to wipe her tears away before continuing. "I'm sorry, it's just seeing you, uh...seeing you in a..."

He cuts her off as he took her hand. "In a wheelchair, is surprising I know, something you need to get use to seeing.  
If you need time to adjust to that, then you take as much as you want/need, but if you think that you won't ever be use to this, then I think we should end it." Now he had tears in his eyes as he finished. "It would hurt like hell, I'm not going to lie about that, but better now than six months down the road."

More tears were coming out of Lindsey's eyes as she bent down so she could cup his cheek while she spoke with emotion. "No, I'm not walking away from you, not now, not months, not years, down the road. I'll help you through this, I'll do whatever you want me to do, Ok?"

He nodded, sniffling now as she kept repeating 'ok', then he spoke again once he could. "You sure, then? Because I don't want to be holding you back for something be..."

This time he gets cut off by her lips, their first kiss since he's been back, and once they pulled back, she whispered while her forehead was against his. "Nobody is better than you, and I don't want anybody else." She pulled back, and placed her hand around the front of the necklace she wore and pulled it out from her shirt, so he could see his senior ring at the end of it, and she smiled.  
"You see this, you're never getting it back, so you better have not been hoping for it."

He smiled while shaking his head. "I wouldn't dream of asking for it back, sweetheart."

This time she smirked as she stood up straight. "Good, because you're pretty much stuck with me, whether you like it or not, so don't ever forget that."

He took a breath before replying as he took her hand again and looked up at her. "I won't."

She wiped the rest of her tears off her cheeks with a nod, then she cleared her throat and slipped her hand out of his. "Now that we got that covered, I wasn't kidding about these dishes, we should help your parents out." Then she smirked again without thinking. "And don't think just because you are in a wheelchair you can't do your sh..." She trailed off and turned around to look at him with a shy/embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry."

After he had placed the rest of the dishes in his lap, he rolled over to her with a smile. "It's ok, you don't have to sensor yourself. I know you don't mean any harm with your words. Besides, it's not like what you said isn't the truth, it's just a reality we have to get use to now."

She held out her hand with a nod as she whispered. "Together."

He slipped his fingers through hers and replied in return. "Together."

Their moment together was interrupted when Nick's voice was heard as he was walking into the kitchen. "A couple of siblings wanted to say goodnight to their oldest brother."

Kyle handed the rest of the dishes to Lindsey before he turned his chair around and rolled up to Nick, who was holding Jenny, while Anthony was standing behind Nick's leg.

He smiled as he held out his arms for Jenny, and after she was placed in them, he smiled down at his youngest sister and whispered. "Good night, Angel. I love you." He bent down and kissed her forehead before lifting his head up to look at his youngest brother, who was still behind Nick's leg, knowing, like everybody else, he'll have to get use to seeing him in a wheelchair. "Hey little man, you know you can still give me a hug anytime that you want, you won't hurt me.  
In fact they'll make me feel better." Anthony's eyes sparkled as he started to smile, and Kyle continued while holding out one of his arms as he held his sister in the other one. "Come here, and I'll tell you what, I'll give you a ride to the bottom of the stairs."

He shouted with a giggle as he rushed to his brother. "Ok!"

They all chuckled, then after Nick had place their brother on Kyle's lap and had taken Jenny form his arms, Anthony wrapped his arms softly around his neck before Kyle started rolling them out of the room.

When it was just Nick and Lindsey with Jenny in his arms, they look at one another, and he sighed with a smile. "It's good to have him back."

Lindsey nodded with a smile. "Yes it is."

Nick sighed again before turning and walking out of the room so he could put the kids down for bed time while Lindsey went back to doing the dishes.

* * *

Once the kids were inside, Calleigh stands up from the chair she had been sitting in and held out her hand with a smile. "Come on, let's go down to the beach."

He nodded as he took her hand and slipped his fingers through hers before she helped him up, then they headed towards and down the deck stairs, and after they reached about halfway, Calleigh looks at her husband and spoke softly. "Talk to me."

Knowing what she was asking, he nodded before taking a breath and speaking with emotion. "Man Cal, it was rough, especially those first two weeks. When he first woke up, he had so much pain and guilt that he survived and some of his friends didn't." Calleigh closed her eyes in pain for her son, having to go through that, then she opened her eyes as he continued. "Then it got worse when he found out his chances of ever walking again was very slim. He shut me out, I just couldn't get through to him."

She squeezed his hand lightly as she asked quietly. "He seems ok now, what happened? What changed?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Our family is what happened." Before she could ask, he explained. "One day I went to the restroom and I accidentally left my phone in his room, and when I came back, he was looking through the photos that I had on there and he was crying while telling me he wanted to go home and be with you guys, he wanted to fight to get better, he wanted us, and more importantly, Lindsey to see him as a man that we/she can still be proud of."

She smiled then smirked. "And when you said 'accidentally left my phone in his room', you didn't really do that by accident, did you?"

He slowly smiled and shook his head. "You got me." She chuckled a little before he sighed as he released her hand so he could slip his arm around her shoulders to bring her to him as he whispered. "But it worked, and that's all that matters, I just wanted my son back."

He closed his eyes, feeling the tears coming, and she brings him in her arms and hugged him as she ran a hand up and down his back for comfort. "He's here and alive, and we'll continue to help him out anyway that we can."

As he let out a few sobs after holding so much in this last month since he didn't have her near him, she just held him and whispered comforting words.

* * *

After Horatio and Calleigh walked inside and the younger kids were put to sleep, them, Lindsey, Nick and Kyle settled in the living room to watch a movie, then once it was done, Horatio yawned before looking over at his oldest son and asked. "You need help getting ready for bed?"

Before he could reply, Nick does. "I'll do it." He then looked at Kyle and asked. "If you want."

Knowing that his dad wouldn't always be around to help him, especially since he'll be going back to work, he might as well get use to getting help from his other supports, so he nodded as he looked at Nick. "Yeah, if you're sure."

Nick nodded with a smile. "I am."

Kyle then looked at his father with a smile. "I'll be ok."

Horatio nodded with a smile, and after both Calleigh and Horatio said goodnight to them with hugs and kisses, they headed upstairs to go to bed.

When the parents were out of the room, there was a somewhat awkward pause before Nick got up from the couch. "I'm uh, I'm going to go change, I'll be right back."

Lindsey and Kyle nodded before Nick headed upstairs, and after a moment, Kyle sighed and said. "Linds..."

But she cuts him off as she sat on the coffee table and reached for his hand. "I know you never liked asking for help, and now that you don't have a choice at the moment, I can only imagine how hard it is for you, even from your family, so I can also imagine how you feel when asking for my help." She finally took his hand when he was close enough and she finished with a smile and a light squeeze on his hand. "But when that time comes when you are ready, I don't care if you feel like it's too stupid, awkward, silly, or whatever else it might be, I'll be there no matter what, so don't ever be afraid to ask me for my help, ok?"

He sighed in relief before he nodded with a smile. "Ok, I'll eventually get there." She nodded with a smile of her own, then he asked after clearing his throat. "Are you going to the dorm tonight?"

"I can stay if you want me to, do you?"

No hesitation, he answered. "Please stay."

She smiled a little brighter as she squeezed his hand again. "Then I'll stay."

He nodded again with another smile on his face, happy to have his girlfriend with him tonight.

* * *

25 minutes later

Sitting up on Kyle's bed sideways so her back was against the wall, Lindsey was reading her book, when a refreshed Kyle rolled into the room while Nick was right behind him.

She looked up when she felt their presences and smiled. "Hi, you feel better?"

He nodded with a sigh. "Well, the best I can be."

Understanding, she nodded again before moving off the bed, then after kissing his cheek, she replied. "I'll be right back."

He nodded again before Lindsey took her bag, walked out of the room and headed for the bathroom so she could go through her routine for bed.

When she was out of the room, Nick moved so he was to the side of Kyle's wheelchair before placing one arm under his legs, and after Kyle wrapped his arms around Nick's shoulders, Nick wraps his other arm around his waist and lifted him up before carrying him the short distance to his bed.

Once he was settled and comfortable, Nick removed his arms from him and straightened up as Kyle cleared his throat before saying. "Thank you."

Nick raised an eyebrow as he asked. "For what?"

Kyle's face got a little red as he looked down at his hands. "For you know...everything, for acting like it's a normal thing to be doing."

Nick replied in a sincere tone. "It is normal." When Kyle looked up at him, he continued with a smile. "You're my brother, so wanting to help you out is a normal feeling. No matter what it is, no questions asked, I'm here for you."

He then held out his hand, and Kyle took it with a smile and nod. "And I appreciate it, man."

"No problem." As they release hands, he continued. "Is there anything else you need?"

Kyle shook his head. "No, I'm good."

"Ok, have a good night."

"You too."

Nick nodded before turning to walk out of the room, but before he walked out, he turned back around and replied softly. "I'm glad you're home, our family wouldn't have been the same without you, I hope you really know that."

Kyle nodded with tears in his eyes. "I do."

Nick gives him one more nod before he finally walked out of the room as Kyle closed his eyes, hearing Lindsey and Nick say goodnight to each other in the dinning room before Lindsey's voice was heard in his room. "Hey, you ok?"

He opened his eyes with a smile, seeing her in a tank top and sweatpants with her blond hair in a ponytail. "Better now."

She shyly smiled as she placed her bag on the floor before she walked to the bed, and after a brief hesitation, Kyle lifted the covers up as an invitation and she wasted no more time getting in, laying her head on his chest, both sighing in content as his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

After enjoying this moment in silence, Lindsey started to sob lightly, finally letting everything she had felt after hearing what had happened to him.

Kyle ran his hand up and down her back as he asked with worry. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled before replying. "I was so scared I lost you, I almost did."

Speaking softly, he continued to run his hand up and down her back. "But you didn't, I'm right here, and despite the situation, I'm ok."

She kissed his shirt covered chest and laid her head back down on it and whispered as she wrapped her arm around his waist. "Yeah you are, and I love you so much."

He closed his eyes as he whispered. "I love you too."

As they laid their holding one another, they eventually fell asleep, exhausted.

* * *

Calleigh was sitting up in bed, reading her book when her husband walked out of the bathroom with just his boxers on after taking his shower, and she smiled at him while asking. "You feel better?"

He nodded with a smile as he walked to his side of the bed, then while getting in, she placed her book on her nightstand before she moved closer to him so she could press her lips to his.

After a few soundly kisses, he sighed against her lips, and she pulled back while cupping his cheek. "Tired?"

"Yeah." Then he gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sor..."

But she cuts him off with her green eyes sparkling. "You have nothing to be sorry about, just having you home is good enough right now." Then she said sadly. "I've missed sleeping in your arms."

He placed his hand on top of hers that was still on his cheek. "I've missed that too. I love you."

"I love you too."

After a few more pecks on the lips, they removed their hands from one another before she laid her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and yawned before closing his eyes, but before he fell asleep, he asked. "Oh, I forgot to ask, but is there something going on between Bryan and Nicole again?"

He noticed they had looked pretty happy around each other, not to mention he did see Bryan's hand on the small of her back.

Calleigh smiled with her eyes closed. "I believe so."

He sighed before replying. "Well, I'm happy for them. But I hope they can make it work this time, I don't want to see her heartbroken again."

"I know, me neither." She yawned this time before snuggling closer to him. "Goodnight, handsome."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

After kissing the top of her head one more time, they slowly drifted off to sleep, very thankful to have their whole family back together again.

* * *

AN: A few more to come. Thanks for reading and please review.


	10. Telling Kyle

AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: Implied/suggestive adult behavior.

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Chapter 10: Telling Kyle

2 weeks later

Horatio and Calleigh walked down the stairs, and Calleigh spoke with a smile as she looked at all of their children in the living room. "Alright you guys, we are out of here, be safe and have fun."

Horatio and Calleigh had dinner plans with the team, Catherine and Warrick, then they were going to go to the movies, while Nicole was going to take the younger siblings over to the Brown residence to spend time with Lindsey, Cassandra, and the newest addition to the family, Rick named after his father, as the guys, Nick, Kyle, and Bryan were going to be here for their guys night.

Anthony turned his attention away from the move and ran to his mom. "Mommy."

Calleigh smiled as she picked up her little guy and gave him a little kiss before speaking. "You be good for Nicole and Lindsey, ok?"

He nodded with a smile. "'uve you."

"Love you too, so much."

Anthony then reached for his father, and after Horatio took him, he kissed his cheek and replied. "I love you too."

"'uve you too, daddy."

After Horatio placed him back on the floor, he ran back to the middle of the living room and continued to watch his movie while Calleigh and Horatio said goodbye to their youngest, who was in Nicole's arms, before walking out of the house, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

About 35 minutes after Horatio and Calleigh left, Nicole left with Jenny and Anthony, so while Kyle was changing the DVD from the player and getting the gaming system set up, Nick, who was sitting on the couch, took a breath before speaking. "Kyle, can I talk to you for a minute?"

With his back still toward his brother, he replied. "Of course, what's up?"

Nick took a moment to gather his thoughts before he continued. "What I always liked about our relationship is that we have this trust and honesty between us, so I just want to continue to be honest with you."

Kyle stopped what he was doing, and with a PlayStation 3 controller in his lap, he turns around in his wheelchair. "Well, this conversation just took a serious turn, what do you have to be honest with me about?"

Nick took another deep breath before telling his brother the hardest thing he ever had to tell him. "You got to believe me, I never wanted this to happen, but with you being gone, Nicole going through that hard time so she spent more time alone, and barley seeing Bryan, for a lot of that time it was just me and Lindsey, hanging out one on one, which all the years we've known each other that hardly ever happened, and for the longest time I always saw her more as Nicole's best friend and/or your girlfriend, but..."

Kyle cuts him off, his look turning a little hard. "Wait, this is about Lindsey, and you have to be honest with me about something?" Nick nodded, but before he could speak again, Kyle asked that question while his heart was pounding and his stomach in knots, hoping it wasn't what he was thinking. "Did you two sleep together?"

Nick's eyes got wide as he stood up instantly. "What!? Of course not, how could you even ask that?"

Kyle's response was immediate. "Because that would be a betrayal that I don't think I could ever get past, so if it never got that far, I could learn to forgive what ever happened between you two."

Nick shook his head and walked up to his brother and looked down at him. "It never got that far, I swear."

Kyle saw the honesty in his eyes before he asked while looking down at his hands, still afraid of his brother's answer, but not as bad as he was about his first question. "So what, a few kisses?"

Once again, Nick shook his head. "No, not even close."

Kyle looked back up at his brother. "Then what exactly did happen?"

"I had developed feelings for her, and they were more than the friendly type."

Kyle nodded before asking softly. "And she?"

Nick gave him a smile as he replied. "Are you kidding me? That woman is still so crazy for you, I never had a shot." He took a breath and finished. "And deep down I always knew that, but..."

Kyle cuts him off with a sympathy look. "You sometimes can't help who you develop feelings for."

"Yeah, so if you want to hit me or yell at me, I'll understand."

Kyle started to chuckle as he shook his head. "I'm not going to hit or yell at you for being human."

Feeling a little relieved, Nick asked. "So, you're really not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad. In fact, I don't blame you, she is an amazing, smart, beautiful woman, any man would be stupid not to fall for her. It's how you deal with your feelings."

Nick sighed before finishing. "Believe me, I'm trying to get over them, because I would never want to do anything that hurts our relationship or my friendship with her. But, in the meantime, if you want me to stay away from her I..."

Kyle cuts him off while shaking his head. "No, don't do that." He then takes a breath before continuing. "I need our group around me more than ever right now, and without you in it, it won't be the same." He holds out his hand and finishes. "I trust you."

Seeing the acceptance made Nick feel better than he had in a long time, so he took his brother's hand with tears in his eyes. "Thank you."

Kyle nodded as they shook hands, and as they release them, he finished. "And thank you for being honest with me, I can see why that was hard for you."

Nick nodded before clearing his throat and speaking as he headed for the kitchen. "I'll go get the sodas."

When he was about halfway to the kitchen door, Kyle spoke again. "Nick?" And after he turned around to look at him, he continued. "You will find her, your own 'Lindsey'."

Nick looked at him sadly. "I hope you're right, man." Before finally walking in the kitchen, while Kyle sighed, wishing there was something he could do for his brother.

His thoughts get interrupted a second later when his cell phone makes a pinging sound, indicating he had a text message, so he pulls his phone out of his pocket and read a text from Lindsey.

'love u :).'

He smiled while he types. 'love u 2, babe.'

As he sent the message, there was a knock on the door, so he places his phone back in his pocket and rolls over to the front door, and after opening it, he shares a smile with Bryan as he moved to the side to let the other man in, which he did with a smile and carrying a paper bag that had chips and dip inside it, and once Nick came out of the kitchen, they were ready for a guys night that they hadn't had in a very long time and were looking forward to it.

* * *

After dinner with the group, Horatio and Calleigh went off on their own to have ice cream before they went to go see a movie, and once the movie was over, they walked along the part of the beach that was away from the house.

When they arrived home and walked inside the house, they heard laughing coming from the back deck, so they walked fully into the living room before looking out the window from the dinning room and smiled while seeing the group of five they watched grow into these amazing young men and women.

Lindsey was sitting on Kyle's lap with her arms around his neck, while Nicole was sitting on Bryan's lap with her arms around his neck as he held her gentle, and Nick was sitting in a comfy chair between the couples.

A few seconds later the grouped laughed again, making Calleigh and Horatio smile a little wider as he wrapped his arms around her from behind while she spoke softly. "I think their group is stronger than ever."

He kissed her temple with a nod. "Yeah, I would have to agree."

A moment later they hear Nicole say she was going to check on the kids before they see her get from Bryan's lap after they share a sweet peck, and when her attention went towards the back door and she saw them, she smiled as she said. "There's mom and dad."

The group's attention went to them before they all smiled, waved and said at the same time. "Hi mom, dad."

Horatio and Calleigh chuckled, finding it sweet that Lindsey and Bryan called them mom and dad too, as they waved back.

The back door opened and Calleigh spoke. "We'll check on the kids, you are officially relieved of duty."

Nicole nodded with a smile as she handed the baby monitors to them. "Thank you."

They each took one while Calleigh replied. "No, thank you."

She waved it off before walking back outside so she could claim her spot back on Bryan's lap, and after a few more moments of watching them, Horatio and Calleigh turned and headed for the stairs before going up them, so they could check on their two youngest and get ready for bed.

* * *

After checking on Anthony and Jenny, they headed towards their room, and once they were in there, Horatio closed the door as he watched his wife slip her shoes off and jacket with a sigh before walking to the dresser and stopping in front of the mirror, speaking as she took off her jewelry. "Tonight was a good night, it was nice that the whole group could be there."

Not only did Catherine and Warrick did in fact show up, but Alexx and her husband also showed. Since Alexx left the lab two years ago, they don't get to see her as much these days.

Horatio, who was now right behind her, just nodded, leaned down and kissed her softly on the ear before whispering. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

She nodded with a smile, then started to close her eyes as she felt her husband's lips on her neck, while trying to reply in a shaky tone. "Uh, yes, handsome you did." Her breath hitched a little as his fingers went to the zipper of her dress, and as he lowered it down, she cleared her throat and replied softly. "Horatio, the kids are downstairs."

He smiled against her collarbone. "They are capable enough to tend to themselves, they are also old enough to understand." He started to move the thin strap of her dress to the side as he continued to kiss her skin before speaking again. "Besides, you know how long it has been for us? Do you really want me to stop?"

It wasn't like they were at each other every time they were alone, but he was right, with him being gone a month and while trying to juggle between taking care of the youngest kids, work, and helping Kyle out with his physical therapy, they've either been too tried or busy to find the time.

She closed her eyes again as he lowered the zipper as far as it would go before he continued to slip the straps of her dress down before trailing his lips along her collarbone again.

When she finally couldn't take it anymore, she turned around, making him lift his head a little, and with passionate eyes, she smiled as she ran her hands up his chest, slipping her hands inside his coat until they were up to his shoulders and slid it off before whispering softly. "You win."

He smiled in return, cupped her cheek and brought her closer to him as his jacket landed on the floor before they crushed their lips together, pouring every feeling they had for one another, particularly passion, and before they knew it, he was laying her down on the bed while only in their undergarments.

Not long after, she surprised him by swapping positions so she was now on top of him, and she pulled back a little after a bit, then as she looked down at her man, she smiled while cupping his cheek and running her thumb up and down it, whispering with emotion. "I love you so much, thank you for giving me this life, I can't be anymore blessed."

He smiled looking up at her with a smile as he cupped her cheek before whispering with emotion. "I should be thanking you, but you're welcome, sweetheart."

After a long loving look, she moved down so she was kissing him again, slowly at first until the fire was ignited so hot that they couldn't hold back any longer, losing themselves in every passionate kiss and tender touch, happy that after five years they were still as madly in love with one another as they were when they got married, possibly even more so.

* * *

AN: Two more chapters left in the story and series, unless anybody is interested in one more. Let me know. Thanks for reading and please review.


	11. Found a purpose?

AN: Thank you, here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 11: Found a purpose?

Six Months later

April 4, 2011

When the elevator opened, Kyle wheeled out of it and down the hall until he reached the ballistics lab, and once he got to the doorway of the room, which no one was in the main area, he said loudly as he rolled in to it, just in case Calleigh was in her office.

"Mom."

He moved a little bit closer to see if she had the door shut to her office and she couldn't hear him, but when he noticed through the window it was empty, he sighed a little.

He was suppose to meet his dad here at the lab so they could go out and have lunch together just the two of them, but he would have liked to say hi to his mom before he had to go. He then shrugged his shoulders before turning his wheelchair to the right so he could get out of the lab, but halfway down the aisle he was in, he stopped when he saw a gun sitting on a silver tray that had wheels attached. There was also a cleaning kit next to it, so he knew the gun was going to be or has been cleaned, and he knew after seeing the exact gun for years that it belonged to Calleigh.

He rolled closer to it and stopped while staring at it with his heart racing. He hadn't been this close to a gun since that day seven months ago.

With unstoppable tears slowly coming to his eyes, remembering those he lost. He took a breath as he lifted his hand up, and after clenching his hand in a fist once, then twice, he picked it up, which just as he did, Calleigh walked in the room with an apple, sandwich and a bottle of water, and she was about to ask what he was doing, but kept her mouth shut and just watched him with curiosity since one, it was empty so there was no chance of him hurting himself even if he wanted to, and two, he could have picked it up just to prove to himself that he could hold one again, and she didn't want to interrupt him.

A few seconds later, Calleigh couldn't help but smile as she watched him take the gun apart, and once it was, she cleared her throat, making him turn his chair around in surprise as he looked at his stepmom in surprise. "Mom, I'm..."

She cuts him off as she walked further in the room. "It's ok." He took a breath and looked down at his hands while Calleigh walked up to him, and after placing her food and drink items on an empty table, she asked while kneeling in front of him and placed her hands on top of his. "Was that the first time you've held a gun since..."

She trailed off, and he nodded while he looked into her caring green eyes. "Yeah."

"And how did it feel?"

He took a breath and gave her a smile with a true sparkle in his eyes. "Good, like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders."

She nodded in understanding, then she stood up and asked. "So, how about a test?"

Kyle raised his eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

She nodded her head towards the gun. "To see how fast you can put it back together."

He chuckled. "Are you really challenging me?"

She smirked in return. "Why, you afraid your mom might beat you?"

He chuckled again as he moved so he was in front of the tray again. "OK, but don't say I didn't warn you about me being the bullet king around here, where they call me the 'bullet boy'.

She chuckled because her nickname around the lab was 'bullet girl' mostly because she could dissemble and assemble any gun quicker than anybody around.

"Ok son, we do like confidence around here, but remember overconfidence can..."

Kyle cuts her off with a smirk. "Lead me to the dark side?"

Calleigh chuckled. "Something like that."

Kyle then nodded with a genuine smile. "Then I guess my work will have to speak for itself." Calleigh just nodded with a smile in return.

When she was ready, she told him to go as she started her stopwatch on her phone, which as she saw him put the gun back together there was a certain look to him that she hadn't seen since he's been back. Now don't get her wrong, he was overjoyed to see her and the rest of his family, but there was a dull look in his eyes every once in awhile, especially lately, like he felt lost, not sure what he was going to do next. But watching him now, he was in his element, and that gave her an idea that she wanted to run by him.

But first, she had a challenge to win, so when it came to her turn, her focus was solely on the task at hand, eventually smiling a little wider as she placed the last piece together, making Kyle sigh as he looked at his watch. "Dang, four seconds faster. How do you do it?"

She smirked in return. "Do you want a better answer than practice makes perfect?"

He shook his head with a smile. "I guess that is the ultimate answer."

"I'm afraid so."

Kyle held out his hand in defeat. "Well, hats off to you, bullet girl. You win this round, but I'll be back."

She took her son's hand with a smile. "I'll be looking forward to it, and thank you."

As they release hands, he nodded, and after she grabbed her food and water items from the empty table, she asked. "Can I ask you something?"

Kyle followed her to her office while he replied. "Of course, what is it?"

She sets her items on her desk before sitting down in her office chair and continued. "I'm not trying to put pressure on you or anything, but have you thought about what you want to do now?"

He nodded in understanding before he replied after a sigh. "Well, I thought I would have at least a few more years before I had to think what I wanted to do post-military, but I guess now I have no choice and they are limited."

She looked at him with sympathy and love before asking. "Ok, what did you think you wanted to do before?"

"I don't know, I guess I could have seen myself being a cop, you know going out and getting the bad guys." He then sighed as he continued. "But now, even if there was a possibility, which I know there isn't, I would more than likely be at a desk, and as a cop, I couldn't see myself doing that.  
Then there was I could follow yours and dad's footsteps and be a CSI, but after what happened." He winced a little and shook his head before looking down at his hands. "I don't think I could have handled that."

She nodded in understanding before she gave him an option he probably didn't think of. "Ok, what do you think about working just in this part of lab?"

Kyle looked at her with confusion. "But this is your territory." He paused for a second before asking in a little shock. "Wait, is there something you have tell us, are you leaving the lab?"

She shook her head with a smile. "No, I'm not leaving the lab, but I do want to find a way to cut some of my hours a little. With Anthony starting school in a few more years, I want as much time with him as I can."

Kyle nodded in understanding before he asked shyly. "You really think I could do this?"

"I don't see why not, you'll be strictly in the lab, and while you would need training on some things, you already know your way around guns, so as far as I'm concerned, you're more than qualified for this job."

"Wow, thank you, mom."

"No problem, and I meant it."

"I know, and while I am thankful for your offer, can I have a little time to think about it?"

Calleigh smiled as she reached for her son's hand. "Of course. I'm not trying to push you or force you into anything you don't or are not ready for. I want to you be 100% sure."

As he smiled in return, his phone starts to ring in his pocket, so Calleigh removes her hand from his before he gets his phone, smiles at who was calling and puts it on speaker as he spoke. "Hi dad, you are on speaker, and I'm with mom."

Horatio smiled on his end of the phone. "Hi sweetheart."

Calleigh smiled in return. "Hi handsome."

He then sighed as his attention went to Kyle. "I'm sorry, buddy, but I won't be able to make lunch with you."

"It's ok, I understand, maybe next time. I'll see you at home later."

"Ok, love you, love you both."

At the same time, Calleigh and Kyle replied. "I love you too."

After Kyle hangs up, he does a little sigh as he places his phone back in his pocket. "I guess that's that."

Calleigh gives him a sympathy smile as she replied. "I know I'm not your father, but how does lunch with me sound? We can go anywhere you want."

He pointed to her lunch items. "What about..."

But she cuts him off with a wave of her hand. "Nah, I'll just have it for a snack later."

Kyle chuckled while nodding his head. "Ok, lunch with you sounds really good. How about Chinese?"

She gets up from her chair, grabbing her coat from the back of it. "Perfect."

After Kyle maneuvers his chair to go in the right direction, he rolls out of the office with Calleigh right behind, both happy for these turn of events.

In all years they've known one another, they haven't had many one on one times together, so they were really looking forward it.

* * *

Later that Night

Long after they had dinner and family time, Kyle and Lindsey was in his room laying in bed watching TV on low volume as she was studying, and after a few minutes of silence with an arm under his head while he was using the other one to run his fingers through Lindsey's hair, he spoke softly. "Lindsey?"

Lindsey, who was laying with her head on his stomach, replied. "Yeah?"

"How would you feel if I worked in ballistics at the lab?"

She stopped what she was doing before looking at him with curiosity. "How did this thought come to you?"

After he explained the whole story, which as he did, she saw the same look that Calleigh saw, and that made her happy that her man found something that could make him happy, but before she fully congratulated him and told him to go with his heart, she needed to make sure he would be ok, so she looked at him with concern. "If you do this, are you sure you can handle being there?"

He sighed before he nodded. "Yeah, as long as I take things slow."

She nodded in understanding before she started to smile as she took his hand that had been running through her hair. "And is this something you want to do?"

There was a pause before he slowly smiled with a nod. "I think I do. I may not be able to be out there with the action, but as Calleigh explained it to me during lunch, everything they do in that lab is important, no matter what the task is. One piece of evidence, no matter how small or insignificant you might find it, could change a case in an instant. I could still help get criminals and save lives, just in a different way than I had envisioned."

She kissed his hand before replying with her blue eyes sparkling. "Then if you feel that you'll be ok and really want to do this, then go for it, you have my support 100%"

He smiled with his blue eyes sparkling. "Thank you."

She moved up his body so her lips were close to his as she whispered. "I just want you to do something that makes you happy."

They kissed softly on the lips a few times before he spoke again when their eyes connected again. "You make me happy."

She smiled with a nod. "I know, but you should find something besides me."

He smiled with a nod in return, and after a few more soft kisses, she goes back to her original position and grabbed her book before his hand went back to her hair as he sighed in content while he continued to think about the job offer.

* * *

While they were getting ready for bed, Horatio asked. "So, how did he really do in the ballistics lab?"

Calleigh smiled as she turned the covers down on her side of the bed. "Really well, you should have seen him handsome, while I was watching him take my gun apart, he was in his element, it was like he finally found a purpose again."

Horatio smiled, happy to hear that as they got on the bed, then he smirked. "And let me guess, you challenged him, right?"

She chuckled with a nod before smirking in return. "Of course, he was in my territory, you didn't expect me to just let that go without defending it, right?"

He shook his head with a smile as he took her hand. "No way, I know how protective you can get in your domain." She chuckled again before he asked. "So?"

Knowing what that was about, she took a breath and replied. "He was one of the tougher ones, I was only four seconds faster."

Not only was he very happy for his son, but proud of him too, not a lot of people can come close to beating Calleigh when it came to her guns, let alone anywhere less than five seconds to her, so he took a breath and said. "Wow, that's pretty impressive."

"I know." She paused for a second before speaking again. "And couple that with the look on his face, I had offered him a job."

He got to admit he looked a little shocked at that. "Really?"

She nodded before continuing. "I've decided that I want to cut some of my time at the lab, you know with Anthony getting older, then Jenny, I..."

He cuts her off with a smile. "I get it, and I understand." She smiled as he continued. "What did he say?"

"He would like a little more time to think about it."

"I'm not surprised."

"Me neither." There was another pause before she asked a little cautiously. "Are you ok with me asking him?"

He smiled as he removed his hand from hers to cup her cheek. "Of course, I just want him to be ok being there."

She smiled in return. "Me too, and if he accepts, we'll take things slow. I got his back, you can trust me."

He nodded before speaking with a little emotion. "I know you do. If I only had one person to pick that was out there in the world that I would want to have his back, it would be you."

Feeling a little emotional at his words, that he trusted her enough with one of the most precious things he had in his life, she whispered softly. "Thank you."

He shook his head as he moved his head closer to her. "No, thank you, sweetheart. For loving him like he's your own."

A breath away, she whispered one more thing. "Always, handsome."

When their lips touched, like most cases, their connection was too much to deny, so they went along with it, whispering their love to one another.

* * *

AN: Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be the last, then one more full story after that in the series, hope you are interested. Thanks for reading and please review.


	12. Reassurance

AN: Thank you for the support, here is the next chapter. Warning: Implied/suggestive adult behavior

* * *

Chapter 12: Reassurance

Two days later

April 6, 2011

After the guests had left the Caine household, leaving the usual two people behind, Calleigh stood up from the couch with a sigh. "I guess it's time to clean up."

Nicole gives her mother a smile as she stood up. "It's ok, we'll take care of it, you and dad spent all morning setting up, so go relax out on the deck."

"You sure?"

Nicole nodded as Kyle spoke with a smile too. "Yeah."

The parents smiled with appreciation, and as Horatio, who was holding Jenny, stood up, Nick cleared his throat as he stood up next. "But, I'm excused from duty, right?"

Nicole looked over at her brother with a smile. "Yeah, get out of here."

He smiled at his sister, walked up to her, and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you."

She just nodded while he walked towards his parents, which Calleigh was now holding Anthony, so Nick looked at his youngest brother. "So Anthony, how old are you today?"

The little boy looked at his hand, then remembered what he was taught today and put two fingers down, so he was showing three before he smiled and held up his hand. "This many!"

They all chuckled before Nick asked. "Yeah, and how much is that many?" There was a pause before Nick whispered. "One."

Anthony took it the rest of the way. "Two, 'tre." Then he smiled again as he shouted. "'tre!" again, making everybody cheer/chuckle before Nick kissed his forehead and replied. "Good job, little man. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Ok, love you."

"love you too."

After giving his youngest sister a kiss, then saying goodbye to his parents, he said goodbye to rest of the group before leaving the house in a hurry, making Bryan smirk. "Well, somebody is in a good mood."

Nicole couldn't help but smirk a little too. "Yeah, he must have a real good date planned."

Before Horatio, Calleigh, or even Lindsey could speak, Kyle does it for them. "Easy guys, we all know that Nick's having a tough time when it comes to dating."

Horatio and Calleigh gave Kyle an appetitive smile before they headed outside, knowing that situation was going to be handled the right way.

Bryan and Nicole looked remorseful for their smirking as Nicole nodded with a sigh. "Which I don't understand, he is an amazing guy."

Bryan smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Not that I'm disagreeing with you babe, but aren't you a little biased, you are his sister after all."

She chuckled as she shook her head. "Ok, fine, I may be a little biased, but I still stand by with what I said. Besides, Lindsey agrees with me, right?"

Lindsey was picking up the paper plates, and she stopped what she was doing and gave her best friend a smile with a nod. "Of course."

Nicole looked at her boyfriend with a smirk. "See, and not a sister's biased point of view."

He smiled again. "True, but she grew up with us, maybe not as long as the four of us has, but I think it still counts as a biased opinion."

She groaned and lightly hits him on the shoulder before speaking while shaking her had with a smile. "You just have to always be right, don't you?"

He brings her closer to him and whispered. "I have to impress you somehow, don't I?"

As they started kissing and smiling, Lindsey shook head from the scene, grabbed the rest of the plates before giving Kyle a small smile and walking in the kitchen, and Kyle, who had some red plastic cups in his lap, rolled into the kitchen and asked. "Linds, you ok?"

She turned around from standing in front of the garbage. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

He sighed as he placed the cups on the counter before he rolled over to her. "I think we need to talk about something."

As she took his hand, she looked into his eyes before asking. "You knew, didn't you?"

"That Nick had feelings for..."

Lindsey cuts him off as she bent down so they were eye level. "Kyle, I swear that I didn't do..."

He cuts her off this time with a smile as he cupped her cheek. "I know that, he told me and I trust you."

She nodded as she sighed. "I felt so bad, he was hurting and I wished there was something I could have done for him."

He ran his thumb up and down her cheek with a nod. "I know, me too."

"And I meant what I said out in the living room, he is an amazing man. He just needs someone, outside of us, to see that."

He gave her a hopeful smile. "Maybe this one will."

She smiled in return before replying. "If she doesn't, then I will suspect something is very wrong with her, and I won't mind giving her a talk."

He chuckled before replying softly. "There's my protective girl."

"I just want him to be as happy as we are."

He nodded in understanding, then he cleared his throat before continuing. "Before we go back out there, there is something else I want to talk to you about."

Already knowing what that was, Lindsey smiled again. "Tell your mom you'll take the job."

He knew he would need a little more education than what he has, but he was willing to do whatever it took.

He looked a little surprised as he said. "How did you..."

She cuts him off. "I saw it in your eyes when you were telling me about it, you finally felt like you had a purpose again, and I knew you wouldn't turn your back on it."

He smiled with a nod. "You're right, I can't. Thank you."

"No problem."

She moved up a little so they could kiss, but before they could, Nicole walked in with a smirk. "There you guys are, I see kissing on the job."

They chuckled before Lindsey stood up and Kyle turned his chair around before he smirked. "Look who is talking? We'll be out there to help finish in a minute." Nicole nodded with a smile before walking back out in the living room, and after a short peck on the lips between Kyle and Lindsey, they walked back out in the living room to help clean up.

* * *

A few hours later, Kyle rolled his wheelchair to the backdoor, opened it and wheeled out on the deck before speaking towards Calleigh, who was sitting on the first step of the deck stairs while holding Jenny in her arms as she was watching two of her men playing in the sand.

"Mom?"

Calleigh turned to the side so she could look at Kyle with a smile. "Yes, sweetheart."

He took a breath before speaking. "In regards of what we talked about a few days ago, I accept, if it's still on the table."

Calleigh's smile got a little wider with a nod. "Of course it's still on the table, and you're sure? Because you know it won't be easy."

"Whatever I have to do to become successful, I am up for the challenge, and thank you for suggesting it."

"You're welcome."

After one more smile between one another, Kyle turned around before wheeling back inside the house with the smile still on his face, then a few seconds later, she hears the the group cheering for Kyle, making her smile as Horatio, who was now standing at the bottom step of the deck, asked. "What's that all about?"

Calleigh turned to look at her husband, who was holding Anthony in his arms, with the smile still on her face. "Kyle's new lease in life."

Horatio smiled, knowing what that meant. "So, he's decided to take it?"

"Yep, I hope that's still ok?"

"That's more than ok, as long as he can handle everything he needs to do."

Calleigh nodded with a smile before looking at her youngest son. "Alright, little man, bathtime then bedtime."

He pouted a little as he asked. "Story too?"

Calleigh stood up with a nod. "Sure, story time too after bathtime."

He started to cheer, making the parents smile as they made their way to the backdoor, and once they walked inside, the group took turns saying goodnight to the two youngest before Calleigh and Horatio took them upstairs.

* * *

Once both kids had their bath and dressed for bed, and after Calleigh said goodnight to her baby girl and Anthony said goodnight to his baby sister, she took her son out of the room.

When they walked into Anthony's room, which use to be Nicole's room, she headed to the bookshelf, grabbed his favorite book and sat down in the rocking chair before she started reading while rocking back and forth slowly.

She barely had gotten passed the tenth page when she felt her son's breathing had changed to indicate he had fallen asleep. Today had been a very exciting day for her little man, so she wasn't surprised how quickly he was asleep, but she continued to rock him gently as she held him, kissing the top of his head and whispering how much she loved him.

About another five minutes had passed when Horatio walked in the room and smiled at the sight, his heart skipping a few extra beats. But that was nothing new, especially when he gets to see the sight of his wife with any of their children.

She smiled in return, and after another minute had gone by, she stopped rocking as he walked over to her to help her stand, and once they placed Anthony in his crib, they tucked him in, said goodnight before they walked out of the room, cracking the door behind them and heading to their room.

When they walked inside, and as Horatio was closing the door, Calleigh sighed before saying. "We are going to have to get him a bed soon." He nodded while she continued, tears coming to her eyes as each milestone was mentioned. "Then before we knew it, he'll be off to school, then middle school, then high..."

Horatio cuts her off as he walked up to her and brings her in his arms. "Easy there Cal, it's ok."

She sniffled in his chest and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

He kissed the top of her head with a smile. "No need to apologize, sweetheart, we just both agreed to take these milestones as they come, and not get too far ahead of ourselves."

She nodded. "I just wish I can stop them from aging too quickly."

He kissed her head again with his own sigh. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

He slowly pulled back, and she looked up at him and asked. "You aren't only talking about the kids, are you?" All it took was one look, and she knew she was right. "Is this about tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Horatio's 51st birthday, and lately he's been sensitive about his age, feeling a little worried about a few things as he was becoming older.

He walked over to the bed and sat at the end of it with another sigh. "You know, we never talked about it before."

She walked up to him while asking. "What, our 13 year age difference?" When he looked down with a short nod, she smiled before lifting his chin up, then she moved him back a little so she could get on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist while he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you want to know why? Because it isn't an issue with me." She cupped his cheek and spoke softly. "I fell in love with the man, not the age, and I'm still so crazy about him. I always will be, no matter what, ok?"

He nodded with a slow smile, seeing the love and honesty in her eyes before he closed his eyes and placed his forehead to her lips, whispering. "I'm sorry."

She kissed his forehead and whispered against his skin. "I understand, we need that reassurance every now and then." She kissed his forehead again before whispering. "And I'll reassure you every time."

She pulled back a little so he could lift his head, which while they looked at one another with passion, she placed her fingers to his shirt and started to unbutton it, and when she got it undone, she moved forward and kissed his shoulder before moving up to his neck then ear, and after a couple of kisses to it, she whispered. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow for your birthday?"

He opened his eyes as he pulled back before cupping her cheek and speaking with love in his eyes. "Just being near you and my kids is all I need."

She smiled with a nod. "You got it." Then her eyes got passionate again as she finished. "But, in the meantime I think I have a little reassurance mission to take care of." Before she leaned towards his lips and started kissing him, the passion building up each second until it couldn't be contained anymore.

* * *

The Next morning

When Horatio, who was laying on his stomach, woke up, he saw that his wife wasn't in bed with him, but did see a piece of paper on her pillow, so he picked up and read what it said.

 _'Please come downstairs when you wake up, love Cal'_

He smiled and turned around in bed so he could get out of it, and once he did, he went to the dresser to get and put on a pair of sweatpants to wear over his boxers and a t-shirt, then after using the restroom, he headed for the stairs so he could go down them, and when he noticed she and the kids weren't in the living room, he spoke loud enough so they could hear him if they were in the house. "Sweetheart?"

A second later, he hears her speak from the kitchen. "In here, handsome."

He smiled as he headed in that direction, then smiled bigger when he walked into the room and saw his wife, who was holding a birthday cake with one candle on it, the younger kids, and the older ones, including Lindsey, all shouted. "Happy Birthday...Handsome (From Calleigh)...Daddy (From Anthony)...Dad (From the older ones)!"

He cleared his throat from the emotions he was feeling before whispering. "Thank you, guys."

Calleigh smiled. "You're welcome, now come and blow out your candle."

As he walked up to the cake, Anthony, who was sitting on Kyle's lap, spoke. "Wish daddy!"

He stopped in front of the cake, looked at all the faces that was in the room with him, and spoke softly as he looked into the eyes of his amazing, beautiful wife. "I don't need a wish, I have everything I need in this room."

As he started to blow out the candle, Nicole smirked. "I'll be sure to tell Bryan that."

He couldn't make it this morning because of an early class.

They all chuckled, and after the candle was out, Horatio looked at his oldest daughter with a smile. "You make sure you tell him he was very missed."

Nicole nodded with a smile. "You got it." Then she took a step and kissed his cheek. "Happy birthday, dad."

He nodded in return. "Thank you."

After he received the same individual sentiments from Lindsey, Kyle, and Anthony, Calleigh asked. "What's for breakfast this morning?"

Before anybody could answer, Anthony spoke up. "Cake!"

Calleigh and Horatio looked at one another, and he spoke. "It's up to you sweetheart."

There was a pause before she nodded with a smile. "Ok, just this once I'll allow it, and a small piece for you mister."

They cheered as Calleigh headed for the kitchen counter so she could cut it up, and as the rest of the family was getting situated at the table, Horatio cleared his throat and said. "Nick?"

Nick walked over to his dad. "Yeah dad?"

He cupped his son's cheek and asked. "Good date last night?"

At their age, he normally wouldn't have asked/talked about their dating life unless they wanted to come and talk to him about it, but he was really curious on how things went, hoping they were ok with him.

Nick nodded with a smile, not the whole sparkle in the eye smile, but good enough to make him feel good, as he replied. "Yeah, I can see potential there."

Horatio nodded with a smile. "Good, I hope things continue to go well."

"Me too." They get into a hug before Nick whispers. "Happy Birthday, dad."

"Thank you, son."

Once they pulled back, they headed for the table to join the rest of the family before Nick took his usual spot between Kyle and Calleigh, while Horatio took the head of the table that had Calleigh on one side and Nicole on the other.

Calleigh then smiled as she took a hold of her glass of milk and held it up. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner, both in my professional and personal life. He is the best man I'll ever know and love, to Horatio Caine, happy birthday and wishing him many more."

After the rest of the family repeated that, they each took a sip of their drinks before they go on to eating their treat as Horatio looked around the table, feeling like he just won the jackpot, he never thought he would have this life, but now that he does, he'll do what ever it takes to protect it, and he couldn't wait to see what more moments he could share with them.

* * *

AN: Hope overall you enjoyed it. Like I sad there will be one more full story in the series, and after that maybe one-shots, I don't know, I haven't decided yet. The next one will be posted soon, so be on the lookout, until then I hope you enjoy your week, thanks for reading, and please review.

Ducaine4ever!


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